Los Angeles is seeing a frightening natural weather event — and its star-studded community has been impacted.
An extreme wind storm, caused by Santa Ana gusts, sparked fast-burning brush fires at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7, with drivers along Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive abandoning their cars to seek safety, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Local areas were evacuated, including the celebrity haven of Pacific Palisades, located about 20 miles west of Downtown L.A., where A-list stars are renowned for their sprawling luxury homes.
Stars including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Michael Keaton, Miles Teller, Michael Mann, Ann Sarnoff, Alan Bergman, Kathleen Kennedy and Carol Lombardini all reside in the exclusive enclave.
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Below, see which celebrities have been affected by the wildfires:
Sandra Lee
The celebrity chef, 58, shared via Instagram Tuesday that the fires were nearing her house.
“My home in Malibu has got me through some of the darkest moments in my life. I have loved creating it, embellishing it, building it, caring for it, and protecting it,” she wrote. “I’ve cherished every moment I have had with it. As the fire draws closer, I pray for it — I pray for everyone in Los Angeles right now. What an incredibly terrifying moment for my community.”
Lee continued, “As the fire reaches our doorstep, please stay in contact with each other; Community in times like these is our lifeline. We are all safe but the fire is inching closer to my slice of heaven in Malibu.”
Kate Beckinsale
Beckinsale, 51, mourned the loss of her neighborhood via Instagram.
“Hearing the winds last night I prayed. I knew it would be bad — we had to evacuate many times during our life there — but the shock at the whole of the Palisades being destroyed is unthinkably horrific,” she wrote. “My daughter [Lily] and I lived there for most of her childhood and most of her childhood is gone. Her primary school, every shop or restaurant we used to go to with my parents and Michael [Sheen]’s parents — and devastatingly, most of her friends’ homes. My heart is broken.”
Cameron Mathison
The General Hospital star, 55, revealed his home was lost to the fires, posting via Instagram, “We are safe. But this is what’s left of our beautiful home. Our home where our kids were raised and where they wanted to raise their families someday.”
Mathison and his estranged wife, Vanessa Marie Arevalo, share son Lucas, 21, and daughter Leila, 18.
Steve Guttenberg
Mass evacuations, which have seen more than 30,000 locals leave their home in search of safer ground, affected actor Guttenberg, 66, who assisted firefighters by moving abandoned cars to nearby streets to improve emergency access. The Police Academy star said during an interview with KTLA on Tuesday, “I live right up the hill,” before pointing at visible flames. “I have friends up there right now, and they can’t evacuate because it’s stuck on Palisades Drive. There are families up there, there are pets up there, there are people who really need help.”
James Woods
Casino star Woods, 77, was also evacuated from his home, sharing photos and footage of raging flames via X on Tuesday.
One photo, which caught the flames and thick smoke gushing towards the sky, was captioned, “The view from one of our security cameras.”
A subsequent video was also captioned, “Leaving,” before another post from Woods read, “To all the wonderful people who’ve reached out to us, thank you for being so concerned. Just letting you know that we were able to evacuate successfully. I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly, houses on our little street are not.”
Eugene Levy
Levy, 78, was also evacuated. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times over the phone on Tuesday, the Schitt’s Creek star said, “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt
The actress, 45, posted an update on her home via Instagram, writing, “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. 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. 💔🙏🏻.”
Hewitt and her husband, Brian Hallisay, share children Autumn, 11, Atticus, 9, and Aiden, 3.
Whitney Cummings
Cummings, 42, shared that her family is “OK for now but evacuating” on Wednesday. “Sometimes evacuating too soon just clogs the roads and makes it harder for LAFD but this fire is moving so fast that not the time to take chances,” she wrote via Instagram Story. “This changes everything forever.”
Maria Shriver
“Heartbreaking, devastating, beyond belief. Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants. All our friends have lost everything,” Shriver, 69, wrote via Instagram Wednesday. ”We have evacuated, but are safe. But people have lost everything.”
Mandy Moore
Moore, 40, revealed she and her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, evacuated their home with their three children — Gus, 3, Ozzie, 2, and Lou, 4 months — and animals. “Grateful for the kindness of friends that we had a place to land last night,” she shared via Instagram Stories on Wednesday, January 8. “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.”
Moore recently moved into the Spanish Revival home, after finishing a massive renovation.
Mark Hamill
Star Wars icon Hamill, 73, evacuated the area as well, posting an update via Instagram on Tuesday evening. “7pm – Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there (were) small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH,” he wrote of the Pacific Coast Highway.
Hamill also shared that his wife, Marilou York, and their dog, Trixie, arrived at their daughter Chelsea’s house “in Hollywood” at 8:15 p.m. “Most horrific fire since ’93,” he concluded, expressing hope that others would “stay safe.”
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt
Reality stars Montag, 38, and Pratt, 41, lost their property in the blaze, Pratt’s sister Stephanie Pratt revealed via Instagram on Tuesday.
“I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi & the kids,” she wrote. “And to all our friends and neighbours [sic] who have lost their houses today. Just spoke to my dad — he tried to save my brother’s house but the wind is so strong there was nothing he could do.”
Landon and Alabama Barker
Travis Barker’s children Landon, 21, and Alabama, 19, escaped their home amid the brushfire in the Pacific Palisades.
Landon gave an update to his followers via his Instagram Story on January 7, writing alongside a selfie, “Just evacuated praying for everyone the fires have effected [sic].”
Alabama also shared the news via her Instagram Story: “Just evacuated from my home due to the wild fires in Los Angeles, please be safe!! They are saying the fires are spreading football field amounts in seconds.”
Jamie Lee Curtis
Curtis, 66, shared an update on her area via Instagram January 7, posting, in part, “My community and possibly my home is on fire. My family is safe. Many of my friends will lose their homes. Many other communities as well.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the National Weather Service labelled the wind storm a “particularly dangerous situation … Red Flag Warning event.” This type of alert affected Malibu, the San Gabriel Valley, the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, Eastern Ventura Valley and coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda pass, per the outlet.
The Associated Press reported that more than 13,000 structures are “under threat” and the origin of the fires has not been confirmed.
The weather event also affected scheduled high-profile events in the area including the premieres for Jennifer Lopez’s new film Unstoppable, and Wolf Man starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. Additionally, the SAG Awards canceled their live nominations announcement with actors Cooper Koch and Joey King for Wednesday morning, opting to reveal the nominees through a press release.
“In an abundance of caution for the safety of our presenters, guests, and staff, the live in-person 31st Annual SAG Awards nominations announcement has been canceled due to the wildfires and adverse wind conditions in Los Angeles,” the Screen Actors Guild wrote in a statement on Tuesday. “Nominees will be unveiled tomorrow at 7:30 am PT via press release and the SAG Awards website. We look forward to celebrating these incredible actors and their work at the SAG Awards ceremony on February 23. In the meantime, we urge everyone to stay safe, and thank you for your continued support.”
Josh Gad
Gad revealed on Wednesday that he has “never” seen anything “near” the amount of “devastation” the recent fires have brought in his 20 years living in Los Angeles.
“So many of my friends have lost their homes. So many firefighters are putting their lives on the line right now along with emergency services and every time they suppress one fire another one pops up,” he wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of the fire. “We are in the midst of a catastrophic event of apocalyptic proportions. Please consider donating to the LAFD foundation right now. They need all the help they can get. I’m attaching the link to my bio.🙏 Stay safe City of Angels.”
Rob McElhenney
McElhenney let his fans know on Wednesday that he is safe with wife Kaitlin Olson and their sons, Axel and Leo.
“Our family is safe,” McElhenney shared via X. “So many homes, whole neighborhoods are just… gone. Everyone in our lives reaching out, which makes our heart so full. An astonishing amount of bravery displayed by the first responders going into to hell to help. THANK YOU.”
Diane Warren
Warren revealed that her beach house of 30 years had been lost in one of the fires on Tuesday night.
“This is the last pic I took of Leah’s rock from my beach house,” she captioned an Instagram photo of a rock on the beach. “I’ve had this house for almost 30 years. It looks like it was lost in the fire last [night]. There’s a rainbow shining on it which I’m taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy. The animals and the rescue ranch are OK tho which is the most important thing. Stay safe everyone.❤️💔.”
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