Actor Bradford talks about witnessing Los Angeles wildfires

Neil Kumar, who appeared in front of the camera alongside Jim Carrey, considers himself an LA native since he moved there about 15 years ago.

The former Daisy Hill Junior High School pupil, who grew up in Heaton, moved to America to pursue his dreams in film and television.

Years later, the actor, writer, producer, and businessman has put his creative life aside and volunteered his time during the ongoing bushfires.

As the disaster continues to unfold, residents across Los Angeles, famous and unknown, are rallying together like “COVID-19 2.0,” he said.

Los Angeles wildfires send smoke into the sky – photographed near Paramount Studios (Image: Neal Kumar) The 45-year-old is waiting for text messages from friends who are firefighters working day and night and updates from the countless others who have sadly lost their homes.

Neil lives in the Altadena area. Pudsey Civic Hall and Asda's Owlcoats Shopping Center are as much at home in Eton's bushfires.

To illustrate the situation California's emergency services are facing, Neil read a message from a friend who works as a firefighter. “This place is a mess.”

“My throat squeaks. It's the smoke in the air,” the “Cold Dead Hand” actor said.

“LA is big, but when we come together, we rally the troops, everyone comes together, everyone donates food.

Neil Kumar, a Bradfordian living in LA, photo (Image: Mike O Mealy) “I was working at Sainsbury's Greengates, and when local people came in it was like, 'Are you OK?' It's like donating food to firefighters. Firefighters also came from Mexico and Colombia.

“This city has given me so much. You learn from knowledge, but you have to give it back. Learn, earn, give back. It's relationships. That's the test of time. It can withstand.

“We have some of the most famous people in this land doing what everyone else is doing, coming together to volunteer, feeding firefighters, bringing clothes, and more. Most real OGs aren't posting on Instagram or TikTok, they're just doing it.”

Photos of the Los Angeles wildfires taken by Vanessa Wyatt (Image: Vanessa Wyatt) “The best way to describe this is Covid 2.0. The roads are dead. When the coronavirus hit, my city was like a ghost town,” he added.

Neil Kumar, photo (Image: Neil Kumar) “Many are disappointed in the mayor's response. We are the fifth largest economy in the world and the fire is bigger than Manhattan.

LA wildfires send smoke into the sky (Image: Neal Kumar) “All the celebrities have lost their homes, so there's going to be an absolute beast involved. They're going to find the best resources to make sure something like this never happens again.

“This is a Hollywood movie made in Hollywood.

“The next day it was like pitch black. It was pitch black. There was smoke coming out of the sky. Crazy times. It really freaked me out.”

He added: “I feel sorry for the immigrants who came here. One of those 20 million ($) homes has maybe 10 people working there. Think about the immigrants. A big house has a big team. They have to spend a lot of money to keep it running. What are they doing now?

After his T&A interview, Neil went to join a group called Blitz in Los Angeles that offered to help.

Neil Kumar playing various characters (Image: UGC) He added: “Due to the current situation, the film business is experiencing many difficulties. We are in the sales business, so the team of people working under me has had to adapt.”

As for why he loves living in LA, he said: “I love waking up every day and being sunny and realizing that I don't really need much in life. This proves it. It's about waking up in a beautiful setting with someone who loves you.” is.

“We have become much closer as a city, as a community, and I have a lot of friends who have lost their homes.

“I came here and spent many years networking, building relationships and starting a family here.

“You know you can have 20 Birkin bags, but what’s the point?”