Celebrities are among the thousands forced to evacuate their homes to escape the large brush fire in the Pacific Palisades.
“Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill revealed to his 6.3 million Instagram followers that he and his family “were fleeing” for their lives from the fast-moving blaze, which is being fueled by strong Santa Ana winds.
He said he, his wife Marilou and their dog Trixie evacuated on Tuesday night at around 7 p.m. “so last minute” that there were “small fires on both sides of the road” as they approached Pacific Coast Highway. About an hour later, the three arrived at his daughter Chelsea’s house in Hollywood.
“Most horrific fire since ’93. STAY SAFE!” he wrote.
Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her family evacuated their home. In a post on Instagram, Curtis said her home is safe but her neighborhood is “gone.”
Jamie Lee Curtis attends the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images)
“NO WORDS,” she captioned another video showing the neighborhoods burned to the ground.
Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt posted a photo of massive flames burning from the side of the road while she was in her car.
“I have no words. Only prayers and holding as much hope as I can for our home and our kids while we watch everything burn,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to every first responder fighting so hard for all of us. Thank you to every friend who reached out and new person I have hugged in tears in the last 24 hours.”
Comedian Whitney Cummings posted to her Instagram Stories that she was “okay for now” but was evacuating.
“Sometimes evacuating too soon just clogs the roads and makes it harder for LAFD. But this fire is moving so fast that (it’s) not the time to take chances,” she wrote. “This changes everything forever.”
“Schitt’s Creek” actor and comedian Eugene Levy, who is the honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, talked to the L.A. Times while stuck in traffic trying to leave the area: “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn’t see any flames, but the smoke was very dark.”
Eugene Levy poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film ‘The Reluctant Traveller’ in London, Feb. 14, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Photographers spotted actor Ben Affleck in his car leaving the area. The Academy Award winner’s ex-wife, actress Jennifer Garner, lives close by, but it’s not known if she evacuated too, reports TMZ.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson’s son Chet said that the neighborhood he grew up in has “burned to the ground.”
“Pray for the Palisades,” he wrote to his Instagram Stories.
Singer and actress Mandy Moore evacuated on Tuesday with her “kids, dogs and cats” and they were all safe. She said on Instagram Stories that she’s “Praying and grateful for first responders.”
“Grateful for the kindness of friends that we had a place to land last night,” she wrote. “Trying to shield the kids from the immense sadness and worry I feel. Praying for everyone in our beautiful city. So gutted for the destruction and loss. Don’t know if our place made it.”
The affluent region is home to other A-list stars like Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, and many more.
Evacuations have been ordered for the entire Pacific Palisades area down to the Pacific Ocean. The evacuations also included warnings for Santa Monica and Calabasas areas, impacting tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
The Palisades Fire was first reported close to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and exploded to nearly 12,000 acres with no containment as of Wednesday afternoon.
