Diane Farr has spent much of her acting life portraying a firefighter — from FX’s “Rescue Me” to CBS’s “Fire Country,” where she plays as Cal Fire division chief Sharon Leone. But on Jan. 7, the actress’ story crossed from the land of fiction into a real nightmare. Her cell phone sounded with an alert that her Altadena-adjacent home was in the line of fire.
As we continue to gather stories from community members about their experiences during the January wildfires that destroyed wide swaths of Altadena and Pacific Palisades — and explore what they need long-term — here is some of Farr’s story.
We’re glad you and your family are OK. Can you describe your community for us?
I live in the town next to Altadena, which most of us now know lost [estimated 9,400] structures (mostly homes) in the fire. My town next door was built to serve the scientists working at JPL [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory] and, therefore, has wonderful public schools. Most people in my town have families who attend these schools. This makes for more people who needed to flee, with children, when we were evacuated on the first night of the Eaton fire.
Who lives in your household?
Myself and my three children live here — my son Beckett (17) and my identical twin daughters (16) — and because the Christmas holidays had just ended, my boyfriend and a friend of ours were also staying at the house when the fires broke out.
What did you and your family do as soon as you learned about the fires?
My evacuation story is unique in that I had already left for filming the night before the fire started, but my house was full of everyone I love. From our shooting location in Canada, I received a text to evacuate. I booked both my daughters on a plane, as they go to high school out of state, and sent them to the airport to get them out of harm’s way. My son went to his father’s house — nearby but not under evacuation. My boyfriend and our house guest went to other friends’ houses.
As each person left my house, from my kids to my friends and my partner, they asked me what I needed them to take to safety. I don’t know if it was the right answer, but I told them to take their passport and themselves. Everything else, I could replace.
When were you able to return to your neighborhood?
Our house was under evacuation orders for six days and power was not restored until the seventh day. My house guest did not feel safe returning at all, and my children seemed safer out of town. On the 10th day, I returned alone to see if there was smoke damage. Thankfully, there is not, but the house feels different to me now. It feels vulnerable and, in turn, so do I when I am in it. I feel unsure if I can protect this home and vice versa.
How did you learn that your kids’ school had burned down?
I learned that my kids’ [former] elementary school burned down when the kids saw it on TikTok.
How are your children doing, and what is the plan now for continuing their education?
My children were no longer attending this school, but at our high school where my son is enrolled, 28 faculty members lost their homes to the Eaton fire. I asked a board member for a list of their GoFundMe accounts. I sent a donation to all of them. Also, our public school, like most, does fundraising to support the kids’ educational services.
Our school allowed us to send our annual school donation directly to a fund for all these teachers and staff — that will be distributed equally between them. As a smaller gesture, I offered garage space to any teacher in our town who needs a place to store their donations that they can access with or without me.
Have you been able to talk to any of the school administrators or teachers? What about your neighbors?
Because I was out of town filming when the fire began, one of my neighbors who is a scientist at JPL has been incredibly helpful to me. She has shared videos of our property, the town and information on when the winds were coming. She and I are both single mothers, and her support has meant the world to me.
During the evacuation days, my children’s friends’ dads took shifts at night to drive by and check our houses for looters. They took videos and sent them to me nightly. This was so comforting that it makes me cry to mention it. My partner also drove to my house each day at nightfall to water down the roof. My training as a firefighter on both “Rescue Me” and “Fire Country” has told me this wouldn’t help for long, but might do my house some good for a few hours as night fell.
We all remember who shows up for us in a time of crisis. These are the people I’m most thankful for.
Tell us about your roles in “Rescue Me” and “Fire Country” and the eerie connection to what happened here.
I think we all feel incredibly helpless in a fire. While I was watching the destruction spread in the Watch Duty app and on the news, I dare say having trained with different kinds of firefighters (structural and wildland) for these roles over 25 years has made me feel extra helpless. Even though I know how to work a hose, climb ladders and have a uniform with boots and a helmet fitted to me, I would still only be in the way on scene. Evacuation is a privilege we enjoy because these brave men and women are running into the fire while the rest of us run out. This was never clearer to me than when my house was on the line, and I could still do nothing to help, despite training for my roles.
What have you learned about firefighters and what they do through your research and other preparation for the roles?
The job is so much harder than you think. Carrying the gear alone is harder than anyone imagines. Anyone on the sidelines saying what should have been done needs to take that energy to support our civil servants in the future, not pretend to know how to do a job most of us would never make the cut to do.
What do you have to say to the real-life firefighters, including incarcerated firefighters, in our lives now?
I see you, I thank you and I admire every one of you. I play the part on TV, but in life I could never keep up with what you do.
How has your experience as a director on “Fire Country” deepened your understanding of telling authentic stories about the fire community?
Having my children and my home in the line of the fire, and being entirely dependent on the incarcerated men and women fighting it back alongside Cal Fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the visiting firefighters across California, the United States and the world has made me want to do the best job I possibly can bringing stories like theirs to TV.
I have never felt that TV dramas are meant to be documentaries. We are to entertain and, in the best of times, shed light on what the experience of a firefighter is, but in my 25 years of playing a firefighter and now directing “Fire Country,” I have never wanted to get it right more than I do in this moment.
What have you and your family been doing since returning to your neighborhood?
Fundraising. Every day. This includes bringing groceries to single friends who lost their homes, bringing toys to the children of families I know who have lost all of them and participating in everything from a telethon to unpacking Amazon boxes with firefighter donations. The hours of service put in are the only times where my nervous system felt settled. It is not a platitude to say service is as good for me as it is for those being served. I encourage folks to look up online how to help. Your time and your efforts can go a long way.
