Patricia Heaton says LA fires prove ‘we can’t just rely on the government’

Heaton explained Los Angeles didn’t seem prepared for the fires, which began burning on Jan. 7 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Since then, multiple fires have burned in different areas of the star-studded city, destroying thousands of homes and businesses. The actress emphasized a need for forestry management and reservoirs actually filled with water.

“I know some of the officials were saying, ‘Well, the system was overwhelmed.’ Well, in case of a huge fire, of course it’s going to be overwhelmed,” she told Fox News Digital. “You should know that and have been prepared for that. So, I think there’s a lot of money spent in L.A. and we can’t figure out where it’s going.”

Heaton insisted California residents “can’t just rely on the government to take care of things.”

“It’s people coming together in your community and insisting on getting stuff done. And sadly, this is a very, very, very harsh lesson.”

“But I guess that’s what it takes to kind of break apart that bureaucracy and get the stuff done that the government is supposed to do, which is take care of the infrastructure first and foremost,” Heaton said.

Patricia Heaton relocated from Hollywood to Nashville. (Getty Images)

Heaton is working with LA Dream Center to help with diaster relief efforts, and she’s not the only one. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kathie Lee Gifford and Chris Pratt have all donated needed items or money to the charity working to help those affected by the Los Angeles fires.

“They’ve stepped up. They’ve showed up. We’ve had advocacy,” Matthew Barnett, founder of LA Dream Center, told Fox News Digital about the celebrity support. “We have people like Snoop Dog the other day – like I’ve never met in my entire life – but he did a whole minute and a half, like, Instagram post of me just talking.”