Melissa Rivers Saves Joan Rivers’ Emmy Amid L.A. Wildfires

Melissa Rivers, daughter of the late comedian Joan Rivers, revealed she managed to save her mother’s prized Emmy award before her Pacific Palisades home was destroyed by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. In an emotional interview with CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins, Melissa shared her evacuation experience and the difficult decisions she faced while fleeing the flames.

“I kind of had a mental checklist. I made sure that we got passports, birth certificates, medication, clothing,” Melissa said. “I just was out shopping for clothes. It started to hit me, we literally just had what was on our backs.” Among the few items she saved were Joan Rivers’ 1990 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host, a photo of her father, and a drawing Joan had made of Melissa and her son.

Melissa emphasized the importance of preparing for emergencies, urging others to have a bag of essentials ready. “It’s amazing what you grab, it’s amazing what you take,” she said. “I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo because I know I can find the photos. [But a drawing of hers] I can’t replace.”

The wildfires have ravaged the Pacific Palisades area, with Melissa describing the devastation as her town being “wiped off the map.” She expressed heartbreak not only for her own loss but for the broader community affected by the disaster. “My heart is so broken not just for myself, but for everyone going through this,” she said.

The fires have impacted numerous celebrities, including Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, Paris Hilton, and Billy Crystal, with over 1,000 structures destroyed and 130,000 residents under evacuation orders. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported at least five fatalities as of Wednesday evening.