Bruce Willis recently made his first public appearance since 2022 after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. In an Instagram post, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, shows the former actor, who grew up in Salem County, shaking hands and greeting first responders battling the ongoing California wildfires.

LOS ANGELES ( KTLA) – Amid the devastating wildfires in Southern California, Bruce Willis took time to thank first responders in a rare public appearance since his dementia diagnosis.

Bruce Willis retired from acting in 2022 and was then diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. He's rarely been seen in public since then.

Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming Willis, took a rare public step Thursday to go out and thank first responders battling the wildfires in L.A. that have destroyed entire neighborhoods across the city.

Willis was diagnosed first with aphasia -- a condition where the brain's ability to understand or express language is impaired, according to the National Institutes of Health -- in 2022 before receiving an additional diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in 2023, according to his family.

The iconic actor, in the midst of a dementia diagnosis, took time to visit first responders battling the Los Angeles wildfires in a rare new video.

Bruce Willis made a rare outing, taking time to thank first responders.

Bruce Willis has been battling dementia and aphasia for many years. Despite these challenges, he continues to express gratitude to the first responders in California, where fires are still raging. His family has shared emotional moments on social media,

Demi Moore is spending plenty of time with ex-husband Bruce Willis over the holiday season and a source close to the actress tells In Touch exclusively that she’s been keeping him up to speed with her surging Hollywood career while easing the burden on his current wife,

In an Instagram video posted by his wife Emma Heming Willis on Thursday, Willis is seen interacting with Los Angeles police officers, shaking hands and posing for a photo.

Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming shared a new video of the actor thanking first responders amid the wildfires in Los Angeles, marking his first appearance since dementia diagnosis. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have lost everything after their Pacific Palisades home burned down in the California fires last week.