EXCLUSIVE: Killer LA Wildfires Send Calls to Scientology and 'End of Days'-Style Cults Soaring — 'Everyone Thinks the World Is Ending'
Thousands of people have evacuated their home due to the deadly fire.
Jan. 10 2025, Published 6:23 p.m. ET
Los Angeles' killer wildfires have caused a stampede of calls to crackpot organizations like the Church of Scientology and "end of days" cults.
Preachers from Scientology have even been seen out of the streets of fire-ravaged areas recruiting new members as the flames continue to consume huge swathes of LA, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Preachers from Scientology have even been seen out of the streets of fire-ravaged areas recruiting new members.
A video shot in Pasadena shows two orange t-shirt-clad members stopping people and asking about their religious beliefs.
A caption read: "Scientology recruiting during wildfires is crazy!”
One church elder told us: "We have seen a huge increase in calls and emails since the fires took hold. People are looking for answers. They think the world is ending, and they are fearful.
"Some have mentioned they have contacted other organizations whose beliefs are that the end of the world is coming. We live in troubled times."
Among Scientology's basic tenets are the belief that human beings are immortal, that a person's life experience transcends a single lifetime, and that human beings possess infinite capabilities.
The group, which counts Tom Cruise amongst its members, has also been on social media offering help to fire victims.
But one prominent member of the church does not believe the end of the world is imminent.
A post on Facebook said: "Wildfire Relief Support Available at the Church of Scientology.
"We're here for anyone and everyone affected by the wildfires currently impacting areas such as Pacific Palisades, Pasadena/Altadena, La Crescenta, Montrose, and beyond. "The Scientology Volunteer Ministers have set up headquarters at the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles to provide a safe place for you and your family."
But one prominent member of the church who lost part of his multi-million-dollar home in Malibu does not believe the end of the world is imminent.
He blames local politicians.
On Wednesday afternoon, as the devastating wildfires tore across thousands of acres in Los Angeles, the beachfront home of Miami resident and prominent Scientologist Grant Cardone caught fire.
Videos Cardone posted on X show firefighters battling flames engulfing part of his 9,500-square-foot home on exclusive Carbon Beach, AKA Billionaire's Beach.
Photos Cardone later shared showed the aftermath of the destruction.
The death toll has reached 10 people.
The charred remains of a glitzy lounge area and fire pit on the home's sprawling deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Cardone's residence appeared to be the last one standing among the row of scorched mansions.
But even as his home went up in flames before his very eyes, Cardone took to social media to diminish climate change as a factor in the ongoing disaster.
He wrote on X: "California Fires will be blamed on Climate Change but do NOT believe it.
"These fires will produce $100's of billions in losses due to incompetence, corrupted budgets, an oppressive coastal commission, over-regulation, bizarre environmental initiatives, homeless camps, and freak liberal agendas all combined with NO COMMON SENSE.
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The public has been blaming politicians for the fire.
"Santa Anna winds, low humidity, and fires have existed in the state of California forever. The state's lack of leadership, Newsom, has been unwilling to invest in permanent solutions like burying electrical, increase access to plentiful water, and managing forestry floors, instead wasting hundreds of billions on high-speed rails to nowhere, liberal agendas, and climate conspiracies.
"I want to thank Malibu Fire Department for doing their best to save our home on Carbon Beach. They were amazing and heroic!"
