Ricki Lake Receives Miraculous Message After Losing All Her Personal Belongings in Fire

Former talk show host Ricki Lake is rebuilding her life after losing her home and belongings in the LA wildfires at the top of this year. She’d built and curated her beloved Malibu home, which she openly said was her sanctuary.

Despite life’s hardships, she’s still experiencing life’s magical moments. And this time, it’s courtesy of a stranger.

This past weekend, artist Patty Scanlon purchased a box of photos from the Pasadena Flea Market. She quickly realized some of the photos were of Lake and her son, Milo, now 28, when he was a baby. Scanlon shared some of them on Instagram in the hopes of getting Lake’s attention, which she did. The post made its way to Lake, she commented in the comment section: “I’m still in disbelief.”

The following day, Scanlon and Lake went on Instagram Live together to share the story, which Lake says “gives you hope for humanity.” Scanlon explained that she’s an artist who uses photographs for inspiration for her paintings, revealing she paid $20 at the flea market for a box of photos.

The photos had been sent by Lake to a friend. An envelope with an old New York City address of Lake’s was included in the pile. Scanlon believes the friend might have had an estate sale or something similar, which is how the photos could have ended up in the flea market.

Regardless, Lake’s heart was warmed by her generosity to offer them back to her. “I just can’t believe the magic that is my life. It just feels like there’s somebody looking out for me, because this doesn’t make any sense,” Lake said as she heard Scanlon’s story. “I’m so touched and I’m overwhelmed.”

In a step-by-step video shared in January, she shared how flames moved onto her property before it was ultimately destroyed. “It’s happening right now,” she said at the start of the video, as she showed the fire from a distance. “Huge fire in the Palisades.”

She also captured footage of sprinklers working in her back garden, as she and her husband Ross Burningham prepared for the worst. “Thankfully, my sprinklers are working,” she said. “We have our system set up.” She he was hosing down palm trees, Lake warned, “That’s so hot, honey.” 

As the fire progressed, she showed herself walking toward cars on the property as she prepared to leave the property to save their own lives. “1/7/25 The day we lost our home. 😭💔timeline of our efforts to save our beloved home in Malibu,” she wrote in her caption. “11:24 am early signs of smoke in Temescal Canyon 11:54 am setting up our fire defense system.”

She added: “4:10 pm Ross hosing down our neighbors palm tree (baller move) 6:17 pm Ross attempting to siphon gas for the fire defense system motor. (Even bigger baller move, though it didn’t work.) 😩 6:55 do we stay or do we go?”

In a second video, Lake revealed, “we finally surrendered our efforts and left our home at 8:02 pm. I’m praying that we have a home to go home to,” she said while sitting in a car with her dog. As they began driving, she said, “I’m praying. We’re going down my street, praying for these homes and these people and my house.”