Mark Hamill, Jamie Lee Curtis and other Hollywood stars narrate the devastating fires in Los Angeles: 'I cried this morning'
Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore and Denise Crosby are some of the celebrities who have lost their homes to the flames. Some, like Hamill, managed to escape "last-minute."
Mark Hamill and Jamie Lee Curtis are among those affected by the firesCordon Press/Voz.
The entertainment mecca is burning. The fires raging through Los Angeles since Tuesday have advanced on some of the areas favored by stars and studios, such as the prestigious seaside neighborhood of Palisades.
"My community and possibly my home is on fire," actress Jamie Lee Curtis wrote on social media. While she assured that both she and her family are safe, she added: "Many of my friends will lose their homes. Many other communities as well."
Lee Curtis shared that one of the structures hit by the flames is "the building that I got sober in 25 years ago," a "gorgeous house of worship" in Palisades. "I think of all of the souls who came there for comfort and solace and all the baptisms and funerals and weddings and the thousands of people who reclaimed their lives through Sobriety," she wrote: "Both are gone. Tough times."
In just three days, the Palisades Fire devoured more than 17,234 acres. It was joined by other blazes, including the Eaton fire in Altadena and the Hurst fire in Sylmar, which together spread across some 27,000 acres as of early Thursday morning.
'Seeing our home burn to the ground on live TV...'
Like Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, singer and star of the This is Us series, lamented the losses in her community in Altadena: "My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too."
Moore recounted that she and her family managed to escape "before it was too late," and confessed to feeling "shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost." In a later post, she confirmed that she had lost her home.
The flames also engulfed the home of Spencer Pratt, reality TV star, and his wife, Heidi Montag. They confirmed as much themselves in a series of videos. Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning musician Diane Warrenwrote that the same thing would have happened to their beach house, which they bought 30 years ago.
"Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience," Paris Hilton wrote. "This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix [her son] took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London [her daughter]."
Hilton dedicated words of thanks to the firefighters, "I am so grateful for your courage, dedication, and the incredible sacrifices you’re making to save lives and fight this unimaginable battle. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." "Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight. You never know when everything could change."
Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" saga, told media that he was able to evacuate his Malibu home at the "last-minute," with "small fires at both sides of the road." The star of "The Princess Bride,"Cary Elwes,shared a video leaving the iconic Californian city:
The next day, the British actor assured that although he had lost his home, he was grateful "we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire."
Also making it to safety was actor Eugene Levy, although he told The Los Angeles Times that he had been trapped while trying to flee: "I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark." His Palisades home burned, as did those of John Goodman, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, according to TMZ.
Actress Denise Crosby also claimed she had lost her home ("my beautiful Spanish house," which "has survived 100 years"), but that she, her husband and dog were safe.
The insurance problem
Crosby crossed an X user who scorned celebrity losses in L.A.: "I’ve lost everything, a great equalizer. Don’t judge, HELP!" "Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to navigate insurance, where to get new underwear and breathe! Kind thoughts, thank you…" he added in another post.
Actor James Woods wrote on the same platform that "one of the major insurances companies" had canceled "all" of the neighborhood's policies months before the fire. In a string of posts, he took aim at local authorities for reducing Fire Department funding and rebuked the "liberal idiots" of Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, and Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles: "One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs."
This week's fires were a near tragedy for Woods, who shared live footage of the blazes near his home, which he had finished building only a month ago.
'3rd world infrastructure'
Woods was not the only artist to lambast the Democratic leadership. Actress and producer Sara Foster listed a number of public prevention failures, including that "our fire hydrants were empty" and that "vegetation was overgrown," despite the fact that Californians "pay the highest taxes."
"But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," Foster said sarcastically before demanding Newsom and Bass resign. "Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."
"City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping," wrote, meanwhile, Michelle Gellar of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"series.
To that testimony, collected by The New York Post, the newspaper adds that of the dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy, who also emphasized the preparation problems: "The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?!"
Harbor Studios falls victim of the fires
"I am profoundly sad to announce that Harbor Studios has been lost to the Palisades Fire," communicated Zach Brandon, founder of the well-known music studio in Malibu. Artists such as Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat recorded at Harbor.
"I cried this morning, but not because Harbor burned down. I cried because it settled in with me that Harbor was taken from so many artists who cared so deeply about Harbor. It was a place of musical freedom… a sanctuary in the most literal sense of the word," he shared. "I loved it."
A fire, for the moment small, over the Hollywood Hills set off alarms for the safety of the iconic Hollywood sign. It is also near the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, known for being decorated with five-pointed stars honoring some prominent artists.
Hollywood closures and postponements
Universal theme park and Six Flags amusement park remain closed. The famous Getty Villa museum, built as a Roman villa, did the same at least until early next week. Although it announced that vegetation had been set on fire on the property, it detailed that the structures remain intact.
Several cancellations and postponements were also announced. The announcement of the Oscar nominations was postponed to allow time for affected Academy members to vote. Premieres were also canceled, including "The Last Showgirl," starring Pamela Anderson, and the red carpet for "Better Man," a biopic by Robbie Williams.
