US comedian Jay Leno was taken to hospital after his face was burned in his Los Angeles garage when one of his cars burst into flames.

The left side of former The Tonight Show host’s face was burned, but Leno’s eye and ear were not severely damaged.

Leno confirmed the news to Variety, saying in a statement: “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am ok. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”

The website Deadline confirmed the petrol fire. He was taken to a burn centre where he reportedly remains hospitalised in a stable condition, Deadline reports.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately clear. Leno is known for his famed car collection, which is housed at a garage in Burbank, north of Los Angeles.
Leno had been scheduled to attend a Las Vegas financial conference on Sunday, but plans were cancelled following his burn injuries, which were not shared publicly at the time.

Leno, 72, was one of America’s most-watched late night TV hosts, attracting around 4.8 million viewers to his five nights-a-week show.

In 2009, he left the show and was replaced by Conan O’ Brien.

Since leaving The Tonight Show, Leno began his own CNBC series called Jay Leno’s Garage in 2015 and started hosting the You Bet Your Life revival in 2021.

The star has more than 180 vehicles including hypercars and museum-grade artifacts, according to US News & World Report.

A spokesperson for the hospital told the BBC that Leno “wants everyone to know that he is in stable condition and receiving treatment” for injuries from a gasoline accident in his garage over the weekend.

“He is in good humor and is touched by all the inquiries into his condition and well wishes [and] wants to let everyone know he is doing well.”

The Burbank Fire Department said in a statement it responded to an emergency call at 12:28 local time on November 12 where they “assessed and treated one adult male patient”.