Tyler Perry and an array of Atlanta celebrities are lending their voices to offer support and raise awareness for the victims who have lost their homes and livelihoods to wildfires in greater Los Angeles.
T.I., Jermaine Dupri and 2 Chainz are among the figures who have taken to social media to share information about the fires and resources for residents who had to evacuate. Rapper 6lack said in a Facebook post that the fires claimed the home of the only family he had out west, “so we’re gathering all resources to rebuild for them.”
Perry, perhaps the most vocal of them all, took aim at insurance companies. California’s insurance marketplace was already in crisis before the fires and insurance companies had chosen not to renew the policies of thousands of residents in fire prone areas, The Los Angeles Times reported in recent days, leaving many homeowners unprotected .
Given the widespread destruction, and estimates of resident and business losses of more than $100 billion, many in neighborhoods reduced to ashes by the fires fear their insurance may not cover their losses despite paying for coverage for years. Others fear coverage costs will soar.
How to help victims of California wildfires
In an Instagram post Sunday, Perry wrote that he found it “appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars out of communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies for the very people they became rich on.”
He continued in the post: “People who have paid premiums all of their lives are left with nothing because of pure greed.”
Atlanta businesses step up to help Los Angeles fire victims
The Palisades fire had burned more than 23,000 acres as of Tuesday morning, the Times reported, while more than 14,000 acres had burned in the Eaton fire.
The fires, which were first reported on Jan. 7 and spread rapidly by worsening Santa Ana winds, destroyed hundreds of homes, as well as schools, museums and historic landmarks. At least 24 people have died as of Monday, according to The Associated Press…