Billy Crystal 'fell to his knees and wailed' when he saw his destroyed home

Billy Crystal delivered a moving speech about losing his home during the FireAid benefit concert on Thursday night.

The When Harry Met Sally star took to the stage at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California on Thursday to deliver a poignant message.

After a performance by Green Day, the comedian introduced the event, which was held to raise money for those affected by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

In his speech, Crystal opened up about losing his home of 46 years in the fires.

"These are the clothes I wore when I fled my house with my wife Janice, like so many of us did, on January 7," the comedian told the crowd. "This was all I had, and I wore them for a week, plus a N95 mask. I looked like an evacuee or someone who just robbed a 7-Eleven (shop)."

Crystal then recalled greeting the audience at a 2003 concert at New York's Madison Square Garden a month after the 9/11 attacks.

"With Ground Zero still smouldering, I walked out to a grieving audience holding up a sign with pictures of their loved ones, asking, 'Have you seen them?' It was all I could do to get my first words out," the 76-year-old remembered.

"And tonight here I am again talking to all of you in pain. But now I'm also one of the hurting thousands asking, 'Have you seen my school? Have you seen my church? Have you seen my house? Have you seen my town?' Have you seen the 29 people who lost their lives? Have you seen them?'"

After thanking the firefighters and first responders for their efforts, Crystal reflected on returning to his destroyed home.

"I stepped onto the ground and I fell to my knees and I wailed," he admitted. "I had not cried like that since I was 15 years old and I was told that my father had just died."

When the star visited his former home with his daughters, they found a stone engraved with the word "laughter".

"Even in your worst pain folks, it's okay and it's important to laugh," he shared. "When I held that rock in my hands, this was the only thing that was left, I thought it was a message from 15-year-old me, saying, 'It's gonna be okay and it will be okay.'"