Producers Guild of America (PGA) has postponed Sunday’s nominations announcement due to the LA wildfires tragedy. “Out of care and concern for th
Producers Guild of America (PGA) has postponed Sunday’s nominations announcement due to the LA wildfires tragedy.
“Out of care and concern for those being affected by the fires, we will be holding the announcement of the PGA award nominees until next week,” a PGA spokesperson said on Sunday.
The nominations had already been pushed back from their original date on Friday, and members were granted an extra two days to cast ballots through January 11.
LA officials said the Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up and will remain a threat until Wednesday, further hampering efforts of firefighters and heightening the risk of gusts carrying burning embers for several miles.
According to the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, 16 lives are believed to have been lost, and some 10,000 structures have been destroyed across the greater Los Angeles area, while tens of thousands more remain at risk.
By Sunday morning, the Palisades and Eaton fires had engulfed approximately 23,700 and 14,100 acres, respectively, rising to around 40,000 across the greater LA area including other regional fires. Cal Fire, the state’s department of forestry and fire protection, said Palisades and Eaton were 11% and 27% contained, respectively.
Some 180,000 people have been evacuated, according to reports, and thousands more remain under evacuation warnings and are preparing to leave their homes at a moment’s notice. Tens of thousands have been left without power, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has issued “do not drink” notices for those in evacuation zones.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called in the National Guard to assist with relief efforts. Curfews are in effect in mandatory evacuation zones to prevent looting.
On Friday Disney said it was donating $15m to relief efforts, while Paramount has donated $1m and the Fire Aid benefit concert has been organised for January 30.
The handling of the fires and events leading up to them have triggered a political brawl, with LA Mayor Karen Bass coming under attack for being on a diplomatic trip to Africa when the fires erupted last Tuesday, and for budget cuts to this year’s fire department budget.
On Friday, LA Fire chief Kristin Crowley said the city had failed her department.
The PGA Awards are scheduled to take place on February 8 in Los Angeles. Lynda Obst and Paula Weinstein will posthumously receive the Trailblazer Award at the ceremony.
Last week the Academy extended its nominations voting window by two days to January 14, and pushed back its 97th Oscars announcement from January 17 to January 19.
American Society of Cinematographers has pushed back its nominations announcement from last Thursday to Monday.
The Writers Guild of America, West and East chapters also postponed their nominations announcements until tomorrow (January 13). The Guild had not responded at time of writing to say if it was going ahead or would further postpone the announcement.
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