
Nina Dobrev reflects on the devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles — and encourages his fans to do the same.
“Hello everyone. It’s been such a tragic time in Los Angeles lately,” Dobrev, 36, said on Sunday, Jan. 19. Instagram post “I was absolutely sickened by all the destruction and devastation these fires caused and displaced so many families. My heart is broken for all the people affected by these wildfires.”
Dobrev explained that she is among the tens of thousands of people who evacuated their homes due to the wildfires that started earlier this month. Dobrev left home on January 9, which would have been her 36th birthday.
“Definitely not how I planned to spend my birthday,” Dobrev said. “But I wanted to make this video to thank everyone for their birthday wishes and to make a request. I don’t know about you, but I was experiencing survivor’s guilt.
Dobrev noted that her home was “close to one of the fires,” but she “made it out” in the end. She added: “But so many others weren’t so lucky.”
Dobrev encouraged her followers to donate, linking to a spreadsheet in her bio that highlighted the GoFundMe links of “many of the families” who lost their homes.

“What people really need right now is financial assistance to help them get back on their feet and start rebuilding their lives and their homes,” she said. “Pacific Palisades, the Altadena-Pasadena community, in particular, needs this the most.”
For her birthday, Dobrev made a donation on her GoFundMe page and said she would “love it” if her followers could make the same gesture — small or large donations.
“I put myself in the place of all these people whose homes have burned down on the ground with their belongings, their memories, everything that made them feel safe in the world is gone and their insurance dropped them,” Dobrev said. “For some of them, the scale of the tragedy is immeasurable and it’s really hard to understand. They have lost everything.”
Dobrev said her heart broke into “a million pieces” for the families affected by the fires. Dobrev ended her video by sharing her thoughts with those affected, saying, “My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you.”
“The devastation in LA is immeasurable and heartbreaking 💔 This is my plea to help. For my birthday, my only wish this year is for you to help a family in need,” Dobrev captioned her post. “I donated to the families in the google doc linked in my bio. If you have seen all the photos and videos online and if you want to help too, please consider donating too. There is a special section on black families and other historically marginalized groups in the Altadena community who have been particularly hard hit.”
She concluded: “Thank you for your support always, but especially now. The road to recovery and healing for so many families who have lost everything begins now and it will be a long one… ❤️🩹 #LosAngelesfires.”
Check it out LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.