Snapchat CEO’s LA childhood home burned to the ground, firm’s employees displaced

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, a native Angeleno, has revealed the impact of the Los Angeles wildfires on his childhood home and what his company is doing to help.

“Dear Los Angeles, I love you,” Spiegel starts by saying. “I grew up in Pacific Palisades. I covered street after street on my Razor scooter. I knew the tall, old trees by heart and had my favorites.”

Spiegel goes on to talk about his parent's houses in the area, his mother's, which is “miraculously still there” yet engulfed in ash, and his father's, which has been “burned to the ground.”

According to the Snapchat CEO, over 150 Snapchat team members have been forced out of their homes. This number doesn’t include their families, so many more people have been forced to leave the area.

“Countless Angelenos have lost everything. Some have lost their lives,” Spiegel writes.

Since the start of the wildfire outbreak, it's been reported that an estimated 12,000 homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings have been either damaged or completely destroyed.

At least 24 people have been killed, and approximately 150,000 people were warned to evacuate or forced out of their homes.

While LA is left with what Fortune has dubbed “a $150 million wound,” companies are coming together to help Los Angeles rebuild after the devastation the fires have caused.

Snapchat, Bobby Murphy, the company’s chief technology officer, and Spiegel have donated $5 million in immediate aid and “will do more,” the CEO says.

“We are feeding evacuees and first responders and offering free space. We’re listening to experts on mega fire recovery and learning every day what more we can do and how we can rise to the challenge.”

Snapchat isn’t the only tech company that has donated to wildfire relief.

Amazon has said it is donating $10 million to help provide aid to those affected by the LA wildfires.

According to the company, this donation comes from Amazon, MGM Studios, Prime Video, Amazon Music, Ring, and Whole Foods Market.

Sony has pledged $5 million to aid relief efforts related to the LA wildfires, Billboard reports.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are personally donating to wildfire relief, Forbes reports. However, the media outlet didn't say how much Zuckerberg was planning on donating.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a post on X that the company plans to donate to support victims of the wildfires and help with recovery efforts. However, the exact amount the company is planning to donate remains unclear.

Elon Musk’s companies are also aiding those affected by the wildfires by providing Starlink kits and one month of free service.

Tesla Cybertrucks are also being positioned in the greater LA and Malibu area to provide free WiFi.