'How do I cram my whole life in a bag?': Priyanka Chopra recalls emotional moment while vacating LA home during wildfires

After spending her childhood moving across different parts of India because her parents served as army physicians, actor-producer Priyanka Chopra now calls Los Angeles home. She lives there with her husband, singer-songwriter Nick Jonas, and their daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas. While the city has gradually become home for the global star, she recently opened up about a terrifying experience last year when raging wildfires spread across California.

Priyanka shared that she always keeps a “go-bag” prepared, an emergency bag containing essential supplies, because she prefers to stay organised and know exactly where her important belongings are. However, the wildfire crisis forced her to confront what truly mattered.




Recounting the moment her family had to evacuate their home, she told Joe Rogan, “I remember standing in my room and just thinking for a second. My husband wasn’t in town. So, he told me to pack a go-bag. Hearing that, I was like, ‘How do I cram my whole life in a bag?’ So many people lost their entire lives in those fires. It just made me think about what was really important.”

She explained that the items she eventually chose to carry revealed what held the most emotional value for her.

Priyanka added, “The stuff that I ended up taking, which was very telling later, was the stuff that had sentimental value. Of course, I took the passport, birth certificates and important papers. But I took our daughter’s first haircut, and something I had from an old movie of mine. I took things that I felt I would not be able to replicate, which was so weird.”

Looking back at the scale of the disaster, the actor said the wildfire felt overwhelming and surreal. Recalling the wildfires, she said, “It was like a volcano. I could see it from our backyard. And the power and the enormity of it…. We could see the hills from our house, and I could see it (the fire) completely taking over the hills.”Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”