The Kardashians have been feeling the burn from the wildfires that continue to blaze in California.
As the flames crawled through Northern and Southern California, members of the Kardashian family were forced to evacuate their homes. Despite the chaos, the Kardashians have been doing their part to aid in the relief.
Kim Kardashian-West had to evacuate her home after a wildfire reportedly began in her Hidden Hills neighborhood. The reality star had taken to Instagram to send out prayers amid the chaos.
“Pray for Calabasas. Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home… I pray everyone is safe,” she shared on her Instagram story.
Kardashian-West, 38, also revealed that she and husband Kanye West, 41, hired private firefighters to combat the approaching flames that endangered their home. Speculation on the couple’s decision to hire private firefighters caused harsh criticism, as many people were not as fortunate to have firefighters at their beck and call.
In a recent interview with Ellen from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Kardashian-West opened up about the backlash. She defended her decision to hire the private firefighters.
“I feel like we were really blessed to have the help of the firefighters that we did. Our house is right on the end of a big park, so the whole park had caught fire and if our house went, then every other house would go,” Kardashian said. “We were fortunate enough and blessed enough, and I know not everyone has this luxury available to them, but we were able to get private firefighters… a company you can hire that friends of mine that lost their home in a Santa Barbara fire, all their neighbors used them.”
Kim emphasized that it was not just her home that she was wanted to preserve, but other houses in the neighborhood as well.
“They saved our home and saved our neighborhood. I had them just make sure that they controlled every house on the edge, so it wasn’t just my home, where I said ‘just take care of our home.’ Take care of everything, because once they go, once ours starts, the whole neighborhood can go,” Kim added. “I don’t take that for granted and that was such a blessing that we were able to do that.”
Following the interview Kardashian revealed Kanye, Yeezy and Adidas were going to donate $400,000 to foundations related to the wildfires.
QC students has plenty to say on the topic. Senior English major Melissa Reinhart commented, “They did a good thing but you have just look at both sides. Were they planning to hire firefighters from the beginning, or were they only going to hire the firefighters when they thought it was going to spread to their house?”
Junior English major Cynthia Turenne dismissed the notion that Kim Kardashian and Kanye fWest acted out of generosity stating, “I don’t think that it was noble. I think that they were probably trying to cover their a**es and make sure that their house wasn’t caught in the fire.”
Senior English major Rashida Ashley agreed, “To me, it just screams opportunity.…like ‘okay I can save my home, but let me throw other people in the mix, just to make it look good.”
The wildfires ravaged parts of California and the amount of homes they destroyed have multiplied. Other celebrities that have reportedly lost their homes include Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler and Robin Thicke. The Kardashian-West home, however, is still standing as the flames have fortuitously been contained.
The couple has certainly faced harsh criticism before and aren’t strangers to tabloid news. In addition to sex tapes and campaigning for current United States president Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West seem qualified to add “celebrity firefighters,” to their joint resume.
