Amidst the ongoing California wildfires, Matthew McConaughey is providing relief to the Los Angeles first responders by filling their stomachs with warm meals.
The Hollywood actor, who is also the creative director of Wild Turkey, a Bourbon brand, partnered with disaster relief organization Operation BBQ Relief to cook hot meals for the firefighters who have been courageously battling the seemingly endless fires in the state of California.
Matthew McConaughey and the team from Wild Turkey originally planned to host an event in town in honor of National First Responder’s Day and to give recognition to those who fought the destructive Woolsey fire that broke out last year. However, with the recent bout of multiple wildfires, their plans took a different turn.
“Teaming up with Operation BBQ Relief as part of the Wild Turkey “With Thanks” has never been more meaningful,” McConaughey, 49, said in a statement. “Little did we know when planning this annual event that California, my second home, would once again be hit with devastating fires.
Being able to provide meals to the men and women who put themselves on the line is an honor … We are grateful to be here today to say thank you, shine a light on their unwavering conviction, and hopefully inspire others to get involved and help in their own communities.”
On Friday, volunteers gathered to support the first responders. They cooked and prepared 800 turkey dinners which were immediately brought to 20 firehouses full of firefighters who have been battling the flames since it started last month. Another batch of 800 dinners was prepared to be distributed to the local homeless shelters.
At one point, Matthew McConaughey himself got behind the grill and went live on Facebook to invite his countrymen to express their support for Operation BBQ Relief by donating their money or time to Wild Turkey’s disaster relief efforts.
“Putting some food into bellies that are gonna need it,” the actor said. “That’s what we’re doing here.”
This movement is nothing new for Matthew McConaughey. In 2018, he and the Wild Turkey team expressed their gratitude to the first responders from Hurricane Harvey in Houston by surprising them with delicious turkey dinners. In 2017, the kind actor went to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, the hometown of Wild Turkey, to distribute over 4,500 turkeys to residents.
As a result of the multiple fires across California, thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. The Kincade fire so far has burned more than 77,000 acres in Sonoma County, CalFire reports.
The Getty Fire has damaged 745 acres and more than 7,000 homes had to be evacuated, including the homes of big stars such as LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Tick fire has been fully controlled after burning over 4,000 acres in Los Angeles County according to CalFire.
We hope that the end to all these fires will come soon.