Kim Kardashian West has defended her decision to employ her own firefighters during the California wildfire.
The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star’s Hidden Hills mansion, which she shares with husband Kanye West and their children – North, five, Saint, two, and Chicago, 11 months – is still not safe for the family to return to after the devastating blaze.
She revealed: "We are still not at home now because the smoke smell is too intense, and we have these machine everywhere trying to blow out the smoke smell."
Kim said that by having her own firefighters, they stood a better chance of saving the homes near to their property as well as their own.
Appearing on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ on Wednesday (21.11.18), where it was revealed Kanye donated $500,000 towards relief for the wildfires, Kim said: "I feel like we were really blessed to have the help of the firefighters that we did.
"Our house is right on the end of a big park, so the whole park had caught fire and so if our house went, then every other house would go.
"We were fortunate enough and blessed enough, and I know that not everyone has this luxury available to them, but we were able to get private firefighters."
The businesswoman says she doesn’t take "for granted" how much of a "blessing" it was to be able to be able to have their own fire team.
She said: "They saved our home and saved our neighbourhood.
"I had them just make sure that they controlled every house on the edge, so it wasn’t just my home that I said, ‘Just take care of our home. Take care of everything because once they go, once ours starts, the whole neighbourhood can go’.
"I don’t take that for granted and that was such a blessing that we were able to do that."
Kanye, 41, raised the funds for the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund and the California Fire Foundation through Adidas and his own Yeezy brand.
Kim presented $200,000 cheques to both on the show and also gave $100,000 to firefighter Michael Williams and his wife, after he lost his own home but continued to save those of his neighbours.
Kanye previously revealed his plans to build a fire-proof community.
The ‘All Day’ rapper tweeted: "Building a fireproof community."
Kim Kardashian West defends having own firefighters
