Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Vist LA Fire Evacuation Sites

As the disastrous LA fire entered its fourth day, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrived on the scene to lend a hand. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were spotted Friday in Altadena, an area in Los Angeles County decimated by the Eaton Fire, one of five blazes currently active in the region. The couple also met with local officials and—faces hidden by masks—distributed food to the displaced, many of whom had no idea who was helping them.

The pair were spotted by local news station Fox 11 on Friday at the Pasadena Convention Center, deep in conversation with Pasadena mayor Victor Gordo. The royals were casually dressed, in baseball caps and protective face masks. Chef José Andrés, of the food relief organization World Central Kitchen, stood nearby.

As Vanity Fair reported earlier this week, the couple has been in communication with Andrés in recent days, as the fires continued to spread. In a statement posted on their website, Harry and Meghan encouraged donations to WCK and several other nonprofits.

Also on Friday, Harry and Meghan were caught by photographers as they toured some of the damage in Altadena, Gordo again by their side. According to those at the scene, the couple spent about 45 minutes surveying the losses, as well as meeting some of the survivors of the fire.

“We went to visit some of the families in the impacted area and view firsthand some of the impacted areas, and then they wanted to go visit the first responders and personally thank them for their efforts to help our families and our neighbors,” Gordo told CNN of the visit.

According to Gordo, the pair had distributed food to those in need at the Convention Center earlier that day. “They want to be as helpful as they can be, and really, they just wanted to be supportive,” he said, noting that as the pair were masked, they managed to fly completely under the radar. Harry and Meghan “didn’t come out here for publicity’” Gordo said. “They came out here to work.”

Markle was born and raised in the same region afflicted by this week’s fires, and the couple initially lived in LA when they first came to the U.S. in 2020, following their initial step back from royal life and eventual estrangement from their family in the UK. Since then, the couple—with children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet—have settled in Montecito, a quiet coastal community about 100 miles from LA.

Gordo says that Harry and Meghan were also working on the ground at the Rose Bowl, which has been turned into another shelter for evacuees. “It’s great people, great personalities and great heart for them to come out here and meet with the first responders, meet with the people who were affected,” Gordo says. “It’s very important.”

As of publication time, at least 11 people have died in the fires, which began with the Palisades Fire at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. At least 153,000 people in the region remain under evacuation orders, and at least 10,000 properties have been destroyed, LA County Assessor Jeff Prang said late Friday.

As of Saturday morning, fire crews have reported notable progress in containing some of the blazes, thanks to favorable weather conditions Friday night. The strong winds that so effectively spread the flames earlier this week are expected to return late Saturday, so firefighters are working “frantically” today to make as much progress as possible before nightfall.

Vanity Fair has reached out to representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but has not received a response as of publication time.