Everybody Loves Raymond star, Patricia Heaton, recently talked with Fox News about the California wildfires. The fires have claimed the lives of at least 25 people and burned down thousands of structures. To Heaton, not relying on what government officials can do and instead pushing for change as a community must be the "harsh lesson" that all must learn.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Heaton stated that, to her, Los Angeles was not prepared to face the wildfires that ignited on January 7. "I know some of the officials were saying, 'Well, the system was overwhelmed,'" Heaton told Fox News Digital. "Well, in case of a huge fire, of course it's going to be overwhelmed. You should know that and have been prepared for that. So, I think there's a lot of money spent in L.A. and we can't figure out where it's going."
Heaton then said that residents should not rely on the government "to take care of things." "It's people coming together in your community and insisting on getting stuff done. And sadly, this is a very, very, very harsh lesson," Heaton said. "But I guess that's what it takes to kind of break apart that bureaucracy and get the stuff done that the government is supposed to do, which is take care of the infrastructure first and foremost."
The article would then highlight the effort made by several celebrities such as Heaton herself, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Chris Pratt, among others. They have worked with LA Dream Center, providing money and item donations that have helped California residents through this very difficult time.
Leaving California
For Patricia Heaton, however, one of the decisions she feels very confident about was to move out of California. The actress used to live in Los Angeles but chose to move out to Nashville, Tennessee. "My four sons still live in L.A., and we go back to hang out and take meetings," Heaton said. "And we have many friends there and are doing business there, but Nashville seems to be welcoming a lot of people from our industry. So I'm not the only one that made this decision."
Heaton believes that, as a result of the wildfires, many other celebrities will decide to leave Los Angeles. To her, being creative "without worrying about houses burning down" as well as rising taxes and crime will be dealbreakers for her fellow celebrities.
According to ABC News, firefighters are currently battling the wildfires across 45 square miles. More than 88,000 people have been evacuated and, unfortunately, at least 25 people have lost their lives.
