The wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have been devastating and deadly. There are five active fires right now, and officials say five people have died, with 1,300 structures burned already and over 60,000 more at risk, CBS News reports. Nearly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to officials, and among them are numerous people in the music world who live in the area. Some of them have taken to social media to update that they’ve reached safety, and some of them are also among those who have lost their homes in the conflagration. One of those is DIIV‘s Zachary Cole Smith, who had a GoFundMe launched by a friend to help him and his family rebuild. It reads:
My two best best friends, Dani and Cole Smith, lost their house and all belongings in the Altadena fire this morning. This home was everything to them and their two year old baby, Roy. Dani is also 6 months pregnant, making this already horrifying event even more impossible to bear. This home included all of their possessions (clothing, heirlooms, prized possessions) as well as all of Cole’s musical gear, the family car, and all of their baby supplies for Roy and the newborn on the way. These are two of the best people I’ve ever known and they deserve any help we can give them. While this money will hardly make a dent to the losses they encountered, I’m hoping to help get them back on their feet with some essentials for themselves and the kids. Please give if you can.
Cole and his family have also posted an update:
hi everyone, thank you.
the depth of kindness we have experienced today from our friends, our family, our neighbors, fellow parents, fellow altadena residents, and complete strangers has been truly unbelievable.
we are just one of many, many families who have lost their homes today. some of the most profound kindness we’ve experienced today has been from other families who lost their homes as well. we are not alone, which has brought us a lot of sadness but also a strange sense of comfort and community.
we are floored by the kindness that’s been extended to us and we gratefully accept each contribution to help us bring roy a new sense of normalcy: his favorite toys, his favorite books, a crib, clothes, the comforts of the home we all loved. and to help us recreate the atmosphere we had hoped to welcome our new baby into.
dani and i just went and bought some socks and underwear. you gotta start somewhere ya know?
anyway, i don’t know what more to say. thank you for making us feel so deserving of your generosity. we love you.
cole and dani and roy
Fat Tony also lost his home, and has a GoFundMe to help get him back on his feet. He writes:
Lost my home today and all I own in Altadena due to the wildfires, along with every other house on my street. I do not have renter’s insurance.
I’m not the only one suffering through this moment and feel for everyone in our city dealing with loss.
I appreciate any support or kindness you can throw my way.
Much love to every person surviving this disaster. ♥️♥️♥️
Anything I raise beyond my needs will be donated to Pasadena Humane Society.
I love you all! Please stay safe!
Sad saddd. But it’s a no brainer, we gotta help the legend MADLIB rebuild! Pls help if u canhttps://t.co/VlANrJdsnD
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) January 13, 2025
Iron Maiden guitarist and vocalist Adrian Smith also lost his home. His wife Nathalie shared the news, writing, “We are safe. We have each other. We will start again. #malibustrong Thank-you for your support during these trying times.”Another great Legend @madlib has completely lost his entire home and belongings to the California fires. A donation box has been set up. This is the only legit link. Thanks Stacy Epps for helping get this organized.https://t.co/ChBfi1omdE
— DJ Premier (@REALDJPREMIER) January 13, 2025
A GoFundMe has also been started for Cola and Ought‘s Tim Darcy and his partner Amy Fort, who also lost their home. It reads:
On Wednesday January 7th, Amy Fort and Tim Darcy and their pup Zuzu’s home burned to the ground in the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
Thankfully they are safe, but will need to begin rebuilding their lives, replacing their possessions, and finding a new place to live.
Amy and Tim are two of the kindest, most generous, talented, special, beautiful people. Let’s come together and help them recover from this devastating event. We know they would do the same for us.
Empress Of writes, “My friends made a GoFundMe for my family. My family lost everything in the fire. Donations will go to new clothes and finding a new living situation while we rebuild. Thank you everyone for your support.”
The GoFundMe reads:
Hi,
This is Juliana and Martha – we’re asking for your help to raise funds for our dear friend Lorely Rodriguez and her mother Reyna after the loss of their house in Altadena two nights ago.Some of you might know Lorely as Empress Of. She’s a musician in our community here in LA. She is also a daughter and a sibling in a family that have now lost everything.
Reyna’s home, which was the family hub for Lorely and her siblings for decades, was tragically lost in the fires in Altadena. This has meant that four members of the family are now without a home.
With no time to pack, the family are in need of clothes, bedding, food, temporary housing and money in order to rebuild their lives.
Lorely has given endlessly to the community through her kindness, music and art over the years, just as Reyna has for hers. Reyna aka “Latina Knowles” on instagram, has sewn Lorely’s stage costumes for many years. All designed and brainstormed in the house they loved so dearly.
Please help us raise these funds and show this family the love and support they have always shown to those around them.
Anything helps, give what you can.
Thank you so much,
Juliana & Martha
Food and music TV/podcast host and producer (remember Dinner With The Band?) Darin Bresnitz (who some may remember as Terry Diabolik, one half of DJ duo Finger on the Pulse with his twin brother Greg) and his family also lost their home in the fires. “I am so sad & devastated about the loss of house & community,” he writes in an Instagram story. “I love my wife, kids, dogs, family & friends.” A GoFundMe has been started for them, which reads:
Our dear friends Anna and Darin Bresnitz lost their home in the catastrophic Eaton Fire last night. Their beloved Altadena home, where they lived with their two children, Josephine, 6, and Oliver, 3, and two dogs, was burned to the ground with nearly all of their belongings inside. Luckily, they are safe but are displaced and in need of support as they begin to rebuild their lives, find a new place to live, and replace everything that was destroyed.
Anyone who knows Anna and Darin knows that they are the most generous and kind people who would do anything to help a friend or someone in need. Now is the time for us to come together to support in any way we can while they piece their lives back together from this devastation.
Any amount will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance for your generosity and support <3
Ground Control booking agent (and ex-Silent Barn resident!) John Chavez, whose roster now and in the past includes countless bands we know and love, has also lost the home he lived in with his wife and kids. His GoFundMe reads:
Hi Friends…. we are the Qamar Chavez family, and we lost our home and community in the Eaton Canyon Fire currently raging through Altadena and Northeast LA County. We are evacuated and safe, and anxiously watching the news and hoping for the best for everyone currently dealing with similar situations across the city.
We are collecting funds to help with immediate expenses while we sort through the insurance process and rebuild our home. We love our community and are going to come back stronger than ever.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
John, Muña, Gus, Olympia and Hank.
“Bandsplain” podcast Yasi Salek also lost her house, and she writes:
I really loved my house. Every morning I would sit at a table outside and look up at the trees and write my morning pages (the artist has her ways) and I would always end with a gratitude list, a woo woo milkmaid dress ass practice that has brought me immeasurable solace over the years. My house was on that list every single day. I can’t believe it’s gone. I can’t believe that Altadena, this special place I love so much, is in ruins. I’m grateful today that I’m okay, that my dog and cat are okay, that I have a place to go and be, that my friends and neighbors are okay, even if we lost almost everything. I do know it’s just stuff, I really do. It was also thousands of pieces of me, outward expressions of my passions and tastes and all my past versions of self. Things I loved. Decades of poring over thrift stores, vintage stores, antique malls, the internet. So many unique pieces of clothing. God I loved my clothes so much. All my old band t-shirts! Hundreds of 80s and 90s music magazines. Hundreds of records, tapes, CDs, zines. Art, photos, every concert ticket stub since I was 12. Letters, photos, gifts from friends. Items picked up from all the places I’ve traveled. A lifetime of books, thousands of them, novels and art books and out of print music books. I felt so protected and cocooned by these things, grounded in my own history. It’s all gone now and that’s okay. I feel oddly shapeless without these things that defined me, untethered. Some moments I’m so overwhelmed by the idea that you just start over, but again so grateful, because I’m still here to do just that, to hunt down another Dinosaur Jr t-shirt, to write my dumb little gratitude list this morning, to love new things and houses and people and life. Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I’m so lucky. ❤️
Seth Bogart (Hunx and His Punx, Gravy Train!!!!) lost his car in the fires, and doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return to his home, or if his art studio, instruments, and archives have been damaged. He’s launched a GoFundMe, and writes:
As much as I don’t want to do this I’m realizing I need to ask my community for help. We are very lucky that our home in Altadena is still standing but we have no idea when we will be able to return to it and if anything will be salvageable from the smoke damage. We may not be able to move back in for a very long time as it’s likely unlivable. We have none of our belongings with us. I also have no access to my art studio or supplies which makes working very hard. My studio was at home and I’m unsure if my work, musical instruments and entire archives are damaged. I also lost my Toyota Tacoma in the fire and no longer have a vehicle. We were reluctant to ask for help as we know that there are others in worse situations (including many close friends of ours) but the truth is – we also need help. We are so heartbroken for Altadena and our friends and community. If you’re able to contribute in any way or share this it would be deeply appreciated. I’ve also created a stories highlight on my page with links to gofundmes for a bunch of people from my community.
Blondshell posted that she is “Evacuated and safe. I hope everyone is okay” in an Instagram story. She also shared a longer statement with the announcement of her new album, writing:
It feels impossible to think of anything other than the fires in Los Angeles right now. The city I’ve lived in for ten years is burning and the scale of the loss is incomprehensible. In a way it feels dumb to talk about music, but I also think the whole point of art is for it to exist in the context of pain as a small emotional respite… even if just for one moment.
Please stay safe. Thank you for letting me share this with you. 12 songs about searching for love, family and friendship in many right and wrong places.
Some places to donate:
Mutual Aid LA
Dog fostering signup sheet
LA Fire Department fundraiser
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) January 13, 2025
Kevin Morby also gave an Instagram story update, writing that he’s “Safe and evacuated LA w Katie [Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee]. Thanks everyone for your concerns. Be safe La.”
Katie’s sister Allison Crutchfield also posted, writing, “Mike [Krol] and Mooney and I are safe. We’re not under evacuation order yet but our power is out and we’re close enough we wanted to go ahead and get out. We’re with friends just a few miles south for the time being – tbd if we’ll move further out of town. Stay safe everyone, download Watch Duty if you haven’t yet.”
Sam Bosson (of Kommand, Blazing Eye, etc) writes, “We’re safe and sound. Evacuated highland park and taken in by my OG.”
Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes) writes, “Wild week to move to LA. We are safe, evacuated. Thx for checking in.”
Osees drummer Dan Rincon evacuated his home and is staying with the band’s other drummer, Paul Quattrone; he posted a picture that reads “Paul’s bunker in the desert” and “Thanks buddy.”
Kid Cudi was also among those who had to evacuate, writing, “Hey guys, had to evacuate my crib. I’m safe, w my loved ones, dogs are safe. For all the folks who lost their homes, people that are dealing with this, my heart hurts for you and I’m praying for us all and I send ALL my love to you and yours. If you have to evacuate, get our immediately. Don’t hesitate. Be safe LA. Love you guys.”
“Going out to the desert to wait things out,” Ben Koller (Converge, Mutoid Man, etc) wrote on Facebook. “Evac zone was creeping up on us so I made the executive decision to play it safe and get the hell out of the city. Air quality was atrocious, lots of stories of friends and neighbors losing everything, leaving in the middle of the night etc. Thanks for checking in if you hit me up, we’re all safe and heading for clean air. Please look out for each other.” Wesley Eisold (Cold Cave, American Nightmare) also evacuated. “Thanks to everyone who checked in on us,” he wrote on Facebook. “We left last night when the Hollywood fire broke out not far from our home. So far we are ok but devastated for others’ loss and the destruction of our city. Heartbreaking and strange days.” Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk writes, “Thanks to everyone reaching out. We are good, but had to evacuate last night. Hosed down the house and grabbed the humans and animals and split…. Oh, I did grab one thing from the house… this VH woman and children first o.g. tee… very apropos. Everybody please be careful and stay safe.”
“Just had to evacuate, tried to go to a friends place / it got an evacuation warning on the way there – now aimlessly driving out of the city,” Grimes wrote on X. “Is the whole city gna be gone? This is a serious tragedy for LA – I feel profoundly sad for everybody.”
“Me and my partner are evacuated and safe this is devastating so many friends houses have burnt down completely i am at a loss,” Hand Habits wrote on X.
Mandy Moore and her husband, Dawes‘ Taylor Goldsmith, lost their home. Mandy wrote, “Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too. Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control.”
Another member of Dawes, drummer Griff Goldsmith, also lost his home in the fires, along with his family. a GoFundMe for them reads:
my dearest friends Griff & Kit Goldsmith lost absolutely everything yesterday in the fires in Altadena. They’re expecting their first child in a few weeks and without a home or the most basic necessities, the days ahead feel unimaginable. Griff is one of my best friends in the world & a fellow musician who has spent 20+ years as a touring drummer in his band Dawes – all of his drums, studio gear…stuff he’s spent his whole life collecting to make a living, was also lost in the fire.
As they turn their energy to insurance claims and figuring out how to quickly build a world for their baby to arrive in , so many friends have reached out to ask “how can we help Griff and Kit?” I set this gofundme up as a way to allow a community they’ve contributed so much to, to help them through one of the hardest & most vulnerable times of their lives
I know a lot of people are in need and hurting right now – thinking of you all with an extremely heavy heart and I really appreciate you taking time to read this and helping in anyway you can.
There’s also a Google Doc of people in the music world who have been affected by the fires.