Hilary Duff recently opened up about how Cameron Diaz and her husband Benji Madden helped her family during the wildfires that tore through Los Angeles in 2025. The January 2025 Southern California wildfires came as a stark reminder of climate-driven disasters. On one hand, dry conditions, high winds, and a prolonged drought ended up becoming a devastating fire that spread rapidly, burning historic neighbourhoods and destroying both private homes and cultural landmarks. In the aftermath, many families were on their knees, dealing with displacement, trauma, financial strain, and more. On the other hand, that trying time also stood as a testament to how people came together to help each other rebuild life from scratch.
How Cameron Diaz stepped up for Hilary Duff’s family
On The Drew Barrymore Show, Hilary Duff talked about how the wildfires forced her family out of their home. She, her husband Matthew Koma, and their four kids (plus pets) suddenly had nowhere to go. Evacuation orders were in place, and the fire was getting closer by the hour.Enter Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden. They invited Hilary’s whole crew over: kids, pets, everyone. That kind of generosity? It’s huge when you’re scared and scrambling.The ‘Lizzie McGuire’ actress admitted she and Matthew got into a pretty intense argument during one of those nights. The stress was real: imagine trying to wrangle four kids and a bunch of animals in someone else’s house while your own is under threat.At one point, things got so heated that Hilary actually chucked Matthew’s phone into a thorny bush outside. She laughed about it later, saying she felt weirdly proud of her aim, “It was a bougainvillea and I was so proud of myself because those are sharp,” she joked on the show. “I was like, ‘Go fishing off the balcony.’” Looking back, she finds the whole moment kind of funny, even sweet in its own wild way. But she made it clear: what really matters is how much Cameron and Benji’s kindness meant to her family.
L.A. Wildfires: What happened?
Per ABC News, January 2025 was brutal for Los Angeles and all of Southern California. With strong winds and dry weather, wildfires spread fast, especially the Palisades Fire, which ended up being one of the worst anyone could remember. Flames tore through neighborhoods, forcing more than 150,000 people to leave their homes. Almost 7,000 buildings were destroyed, and at least 12 people died. Communities like Malibu, Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and the Hollywood Hills took a huge hit. People watched whole neighborhoods disappear. It was rough across the board. Even well-known faces like Paris Hilton, Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal, and plenty of others lost homes or had to evacuate.
