Jimmy Kimmel talks about the LA fires in Monday’s monologue

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to the air Monday after missing a handful of episodes late last week due to the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area. Earlier in the day, Kimmel and the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” team converted the parking lot behind the show’s studio — where live, outdoor musical performances are normally staged — into a donation station (which continues through Friday). That evening, Kimmel opened the show’s monologue by addressing the catastrophe.

“As you know, it’s been a very scary, stressful and strange week here in LA — where we work, where we live, where our kids go to school,” Kimmel began, noting that the “JKL” studios had to close on Wednesday evacuated due to proximity to the Runyon Canyon fires.

“Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry,” he said. “Some of our colleagues have lost their homes. It was terrible. Everyone who lives in this city knows someone – most of us, several people – families, friends, co-workers, neighbors whose houses burned down.

“And the truth is, we don’t even know if it’s over. We had winds of 100 miles per hour, fueling this nightmare. The wind will be back from tonight.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say it has been a sickening, shocking, horrible experience. But it was also a beautiful experience in many ways, as once again we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other. People who lost their own homes volunteered in parking lots and helped others who lost their homes.

“And tonight I don’t want to get into all the vile, irresponsible and stupid things that our so-called future president and his crew of thugs said during our darkest and most terrifying hour,” he said. “The fact that they chose to attack our firefighters, who are apparently not white enough to be out there and risk their lives for us, is disgusting. But it’s not surprising.

“Instead, I want to focus on thanking those men and women – because that’s all we should be doing right now. And we should never stop thanking them. Our LA firefighters were the first on the scene without hesitation. They were out there putting out the fires as best they could. And then we had firefighters from other states coming in from Nevada, from Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Northern California, New Mexico, Idaho, Maine. We have firemen and women from Mexico and Canada, and we are very grateful to them.

“And to our police, our National Guard, our emergency responders, doctors, the nurses, EMTs, the pilots who work 12-hour shifts – thank God for all of you. And if you would like to thank these brave individuals with a donation, this is a great place to start: Support LAFD dot org.

“And I also want to thank our local news reporters – who have reminded us how important local television, radio and newspapers are.”

Kimmel also spoke live with Border Grill chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, who made meals for emergency responders, and with “Police Academy” star Steve Guttenberg, who made headlines during a call with reporters in Pacific Palisades this weekend.

Kimmel later added: “You know we’ve learned a lot over the last six days here in LA. We learned the names of every local news reporter. We learned that there is such a thing as a ‘boiling water advisory’. We learned that Steve Guttenberg is a goddamn national treasure. We’ve learned that – most of us are useless – in an emergency. We learned some new words, such as ‘Slopover’ and ‘Phos-chek’. We have learned that there is a socially acceptable use of the word “slowing down.” We found out that there was a Rabbit Museum in Altadena that I didn’t know about. We learned that none of our out-of-state relatives know the difference between Santa Monica and Santa Clarita. And we learned that whoever sent those emergency alerts to evacuate shouldn’t be doing that job. You know – before – I feel like I’m now an expert on all this fire – before this happened, most of what I knew about fire safety – came from watching Paw Patrol.

Monday’s guests included Snoop Dogg (“Missionary”), Roy Wood Jr. (“Roy Wood Jr: Lonely Flowers”) and musical guest Dawes, from Altadena. “We asked Snoop to come here for three reasons. First of all, he is like a family member to us. Number two: He represents Los Angeles in a big way. And number three: it is impervious to smoke.”

At one point, Snoop and Kimmel shared a message that “we are in this together. Stay strong, LA!”:

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” also added a banner in support of LA’s first responders in front of the Hollywood studio:

As for the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” donation center that launched earlier today, Kimmel wrote in an Instagram post: “Fellow Angelenos – if you’re looking for a way to help those affected by the fires, we have a donation center in our Hollywood backlot. We will quickly distribute essential items to those who need them. Thank you for your support and please spread the word to the people in our neighborhood.”

Donations will take place at 6901 Hawthorn Ave through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. Accepted items include bottled water and Gatorade, baby food, pet food, non-perishable food items (canned goods or individually packaged snacks such as bags of pretzels or chips), new toiletries/hygiene products, new socks/underwear, diapers and baby wipes.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” was originally scheduled to air last Wednesday with guests Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Brian Jordan Alvarez (“English Teacher”) and musical guest Victoria Canal; Thursday’s episode was scheduled to feature Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) and musical guest The Lumineers.