At 10:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday night, Cary Elwes filmed his evacuation from Malibu. While driving down the winding Los Angeles roads adjacent to what has been described as the apocalyptic Palisades Fire, the Princess Bride star briefly hit the breaks to capture the blaze out his window.
He posted the video to Instagram with the hashtag #Biblical. The following day, he shared an update that he and his family were safe, but that their home had been destroyed.
“Sadly, we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire,” he wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “Our hearts go out to all the families impacted by this tragic event and we also with to extend our gratitude to all the firefighters, first responders and law enforcement who worked so tirelessly through the night and are still at it.”
Elwes is among the 130,000 Los Angeles residents who are being impacted by the six wildfires that are now blazing through L.A. County, also including the Eaton, Hurst, Woodley and Lidia fires, and the new Sunset Fire, which broke out in Runyon Canyon in the Hollywood Hills Wednesday night, endangering iconic landmarks including the famed Hollywood Bowl.
The fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, started Tuesday in Pacific Palisades, before spreading to parts of Malibu and Santa Monica overnight. At least five people have died in the fires, of which all but one are zero percent contained.
Actors Mandy Moore, Billy Crystal, Anna Faris and James Woods, songwriter Diane Warren and reality stars Spencer and Heidi Montag and Paris Hilton have all confirmed their respective homes have been destroyed by the wildfires.
“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” Billy and Janice Crystal said after their Pacific Palisades home of nearly five decades was burned down. “Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this.”
“I am devastated and gutted for those of us who’ve lost so much. I’m absolutely numb,” said Moore, whose home was destroyed by the Eaton Fire.
“It tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say,” said Woods on X.
Hilton said she is “heartbroken beyond words” after learning her Malibu home was destroyed.
The Pacific Palisades homes of Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Eugene Levy and John Goodman have also burned down, TMZ reported.
Schitt’s Creek star Levy, who is the current honorary mayor of the Pacific Palisades, had evacuated the area early Tuesday, telling The Los Angeles Times, “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon … the smoke was very dark.”
The Palisades Fire also engulfed Palisades Charter High School, a school that has long been a popular location for Hollywood productions, as well as iconic Malibu eateries including Malibu’s Reel Inn, Moonshadows and Cholada Thai.
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