A reporter left fans of The View shocked this week as he revealed he was broadcasting live from the outside of his aunt’s burned-down home during the LA wildfires.
An ABC News presenter left The View panel stunned during his LA wildfires reporting.
Wildfires are currently tearing through parts of Los Angeles, California and areas such as Malibu. Thousands of homes have been destroyed with around 70,000 people evacuated as they seek refuge away from the devastating impact. But during the live coverage of the devastating events, ABC’s Chief National Correspondent, Matt Gutman bravely presented outside the burnt out home of a relative.
Despite his heartache, Matt put on a brave face as he refrained from being impartial. While appearing live on The View via video-link, he said: “We can’t see it, but I can feel the heat emanating from this house, which actually happens to be my aunt’s house, who lost everything here, like so many people actually in this part of LA”. He later went on to share an update on his relatives, admitting it had been “hard” for his family.
The View panellists such as Whoopi Goldberg were shocked with the reporter’s revelations
Following his revelation, hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Sara Haines were all left in shock, with Sara questioning how Matt’s aunt was doing amid the crisis. He replied: “Yeah, my aunt is struggling, Sara. You know, it’s been really hard for the family, but I think a lot of people, which is really interesting, have the same response – which is, ‘I’m Okay’.”
He continued: “She was actually away when it happened. We’re happy that nobody was Killed, that nobody was trapped In these homes There Is a real fear across Los Angeles in a way that I’ve never experienced in ten years.”
Pacific Palisades has been one of the hardest hit areas, and is an affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood that is the home to many high profile A-listers, including Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins and Jamie Lee Curtis, all of whom have lost their homes in the unfolding carnage. Declared as a state of emergency, the fires have turned the once-glamorous streets into a battleground for the firefighters, with reports of water shortages and intense winds making it virtually impossible to even begin to contain the spreading fires.
A reporter broadcast live from the outside of his aunt’s burned-down home during the LA wildfires this week
So far, numerous fires have been reported across the region, with fires in Hurst, Eaton, Woodley, Palisades and Runyon Canyon – with the fires now so substantial they span more than 25,000 acres with the smoke even visible from space, as per the Nasa Space Observatory.
Having now declared a state of emergency, all resources are being deployed to try and bring the fires under control, with President Joe Biden having responded directly to the crisis by approving the allocation of more aid.
Taking to social media on Wednesday evening he said: I have directed the @DeptofDefense to rapidly provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities to the region being impacted by the Southern California wildfires.We also continue to work closely with the National Guard. My thanks to the California National Guard and the Nevada National Guard for readying Airborne Firefighting Systems. Ten Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets are on their way.”
