Lady Gaga was one of the thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes when the Woolsey Fire began to tear through Southern California last week, but the pop star made time to stop by a Red Cross shelter to speak to other affected residents over the weekend.
“This is not easy. I know this is not easy. And I know that a lot of you are feeling a lot of pain right now, and a lot of shock, and this might feel very surreal,” the “A Star Is Born” actress told the crowd in a video obtained by TMZ. “I extend my love to each and every one of you. I know we do not know each other, but I love you. This is an emergency, but you are not alone, and we have each other.”
She encouraged those displaced to care for each other and to seek help from the shelter and the mental health support staff on site.
Lady Gaga posted a series of videos on her Instagram story on Friday showing her and her staff evacuating her home, as giant plumes of smoke rose from the now 91,000-acre fire in the distance.
“I am thinking so deeply for everyone who is suffering today from these abominable fires & grieving the loss of their homes or loved ones,” she wrote on Twitter last week. “I’m sitting here with many of you wondering if my home will burst into flames. All we can do is pray together & for each other. God Bless You.”
The fire affected the Thousand Oaks, Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura and Hidden Hills areas of Southern California, with 370 homes and buildings destroyed and nearly 60,000 others still at risk. As of Monday morning, fire officials said the blaze was 20 percent contained. At least two people have been killed.