Hollywood star Billy Crystal lost the Pacific Palisades villa he had lived in since 1979. Paris Hilton watched her oceanfront mansion on Malibu Beach burn down on live television.
Reuters reported that the celebrities who lost their homes in the worst wildfire in Los Angeles history were all famous Hollywood stars.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, movie stars James Woods, Mandy Moore, “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill and Maria Shriver were among those who publicly said they were forced to evacuate when out-of-control wildfires swept through the world’s most luxurious bungalows.
The fire burned nearly 5,000 hectares of land in Pacific Palisades, which is home to movie, TV and music stars, with a median home value of US$4.5 million (about S$6.16 million).
Other media reported photos of some celebrities whose houses were burned, but these celebrities have not yet responded publicly, including “Gossip Girls” actress Leighton Meester and her husband Adam Brody, two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, “Roseanne” John Goodman, “Top Gun: Maverick” Miles Teller and “Scary Movie” actress Anna Faris.
Crystal, who has been the host of the Oscars for many years, and his wife Janice said that they were very sad to lose the Pacific Palisades villa where they raised their children and grandchildren, “but with the love of our children and friends, we will get through it.”
Paris Hilton said that losing her seaside mansion made her “heartbroken beyond words.”
“Sitting with my family watching the news and watching our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should have to go through,” she wrote on Instagram.
James Woods, a two-time Oscar nominee and three-time Emmy winner, told how he escaped as flames “like hell” ripped through his house. “One day you were swimming in the pool and the next day it was gone.”
He broke down in tears during a TV interview and said one of his nieces “came out with her little snowman piggy bank to rebuild our home for us.”
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt posted on Instagram: “One positive sign I saw when our house burned down was that our son’s bed was burned into a heart shape. It was a sign of how much love there was in this house and I am so grateful for the years and memories we have spent here as a family.”
Jennifer Grey’s daughter Stella said her mother’s house “burned to the ground” but she and her dog escaped.
Maria Shriver, the ex-wife of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote on social media X: “Everything is gone. Our community, our restaurants… Firefighters have and are doing their best, but this fire is huge and out of control.”
Jamie Lee Curtis wrote on Instagram: “My community and possibly my home are on fire… This is a terrible situation. If you believe, please pray, and even if you don’t believe, please pray for those who believe.”
Mandy Moore is famous for voicing Rapunzel in the TV series “This is Us” and Disney’s “Donald Duck”. She said she and her family and pets are safe, but she doesn’t know the fate of the house yet.
“Honestly, I am in shock and numb to the loss of everything for so many people, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurant burned to the ground. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything. Our community is shattered, but we will rebuild here together.” Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars,” said on Instagram that he evacuated his home in Malibu with his wife and dog on Tuesday night (January 7).
