Ellen Praises Southland Firefighters On Her Show

CALIFORNIA — Ellen DeGeneres is famous for many things and has had her share of memorable guests on her television show. This week, she hosted not one, but ten, "incredible" guests that she hailed as heroes here in the Golden State: California firefighters, thus making her even more famous in the firefighting community.

"This year, we've already had over 5,000 wildfires, but because of the amazing work of California firefighters, there's been far less destruction throughout the state," she said while introducing the segment, which aired Wednesday. "These men and women are heroes every single day. They've saved my house and thousands of others and I want to meet a few of them today."

Welcoming them with a standing ovation, Ellen praised the group of firefighters from various Southland communities.

Battalion Chief Lucas Spelman of Yucaipa — who hasn't had a day off in three weeks — spoke to Ellen about the constant battle against fires in California, where fire "season" is now nearly all year long, leaving little time for rest.

"I think all of us can agree that we have a job to do, people are depending on us, so really, thinking about being tired is just an unacceptable decision and we just get out there and fight those fire," Spelman said.

The segment, which you can view above, ended in the best-Ellen-way possible— with a donation of $250,000 to the California Fire Foundation by Nature Valley.