The 2025 Oscars night turned emotional as the Academy paid tribute to the brave firefighters who battled the devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles earlier this year.

The crowd at the Dolby Theatre rose to their feet, offering a standing ovation to the first responders whose courage saved countless lives and homes.

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Host Conan O’Brien welcomed the team of firefighters on stage, expressing gratitude on behalf of the entire city. “Thank you for all you do to protect greater Los Angeles,” O’Brien said, his words met with thunderous applause.

The firefighters, however, didn’t just bring heroism to the Oscars—they brought humour too. Captain Erik Scott from the Los Angeles Fire Department kicked things off with a light-hearted joke.

“Our hearts go out to those who lost their homes… and I’m talking about the producers of ‘Joker 2,'” he quipped, earning laughs across the room. Even O’Brien couldn’t resist praising the delivery, calling it the “best line of the night.”

Pilot Jonas Johnson followed with a playful dig at ‘A Complete Unknown’, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. “Timothée learned how to sing for the role,” Johnson said. “In fact, he sang so well, he almost lost the part.”

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The warm reception at the Oscars came just weeks after Los Angeles firefighters were similarly honoured at the Grammys. Their tireless work came during one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in California’s history.

Between January 7 and 31, 2025, 14 wildfires tore through the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County. Fanned by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and dry conditions, the blazes scorched over 57,000 acres of land, destroying more than 18,000 homes and structures. The fires claimed at least 29 lives and forced more than 200,000 residents to flee their homes.

The two most catastrophic blazes—the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades—became the second and third-most destructive wildfires in California’s history. Firefighters from local departments and CAL FIRE worked around the clock, aided by tactical aircraft and ground teams, to contain the fires by the end of January.