Nina Dobrev Says She Has Survivor’s Guilt After House Near L.A. Fires “Made It”
Nina Dobrev is opening up about her feelings of survivor’s guilt after her house, located “close to one of the fires” “made it” amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Vampire Diaries star revealed she evacuated her home on Jan. 9, the day of her birthday, in a video shared to her Instagram account on Saturday. Dobrev’s home was “close to one of the fires” but “thankfully made it,” though she pointed out that “so many others were not so lucky.”
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“I have been absolutely sick to my stomach with all the destruction and devastation that these fires have caused and displaced so many families,” she said at the top of the video. “I don’t know about you, but I have been feeling survivor’s guilt.”
Debrov added that evacuating her home in the wake of the blaze was “definitely not how I planned on spending my birthday” and urged her followers to donate and help victims of the wildfires as her “birthday wish.”
“What people really need right now is financial aid to help them get back on their feet and start rebuilding their lives and their homes,” she added. “The Pacific Palisades, the Altadena-Pasadena community in particular needs it the most.”
Dobrev referenced a Google spreadsheet linked in her Instagram bio with a list of families who lost their homes in the fires as a resource to donate to. “For my birthday this year I went down that list and I donated to those families, and it would be my birthday wish and I would love it if you could do the same,” she said, encouraging her followers to give “small or big donations, whatever is within your means” to aid in their recovery.
The Los Angeles wildfires ignited on Jan. 7 in the Pacific Palisades and spread to various locations around the area. At least 27 people have died due to the fires, with many people losing or being displaced from their homes. Many Hollywood stars lost their homes in the wildfires.
“I put myself in the shoes of all these people whose homes have burned down to the ground with their belongings, memories, everything that made them feel safe in the world now gone, and their insurance dropped them,” Dobrev added. “For some of them, the level of tragedy is immeasurable and it’s really hard to comprehend.”
In the caption of her post, Debrov noted that there is a “dedicated section for the black families & other historically marginalized groups in the Altadena community who have been hit especially hard” on the spreadsheet she shared. She closed out the video on a heartfelt note, saying, “the journey of healing is a long one, and I’m sending so much love to you.”
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