California fires: Celebrity homes among those evacuated, destroyed

The historic wildfires blazing across Los Angeles County this week have wiped out more than 2,000 structures, killed at least five people and left countless residents reeling. Given the fabric of the communities in and around L.A., celebrities are among those facing loss.

In one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in recent memory, at least 130,000 Angelenos have fled for safety as fires — stoked by worse-than-usual “life-threatening and destructive” winds — rampaged in the Pacific Palisades, Hollywood Hills and Altadena.

“We are absolutely not out of the danger yet,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said Wednesday.

From Mandy Moore to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, stars have have been speaking out about their evacuation efforts, loss of property and efforts to help fire victims. While they, like so many Angelenos, remain displaced, firefighters continue to battle the blazes that have erupted since Tuesday.

Paris Hilton

“Heartbroken beyond words. … 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,” the DJ, reality TV star and heiress wrote Wednesday on Instagram as the Palisades fire continued to burn with no containment. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.

“While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe. My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by these fires. To all the people who have lost their homes, their memories, and their beloved pets. My heartaches for those still in harm’s way or mourning greater losses. The devastation is unimaginable. To know so many are waking up today without the place they called home is truly heartbreaking. … Please, everyone, stay safe and follow evacuation orders. Let’s protect one another and hold onto hope that these fires will soon be contained.🙏 Sending so much love and strength to all of you. We’re in this together, LA. … Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight. You never know when everything could change.”

Mandy Moore

“I love you, Altadena,” the “This Is Us” star wrote Wednesday on Instagram as she drove through her community, which was struck by the Eaton fire. “Grateful for my family and pets getting out last night before it was too late (and endless gratitude to friends for taking us in and bringing us clothes and blankets). Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too. Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control.”

Billy Crystal

“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, said in a joint statement to the Associated Press about their Pacific Palisades home. “We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy. Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. 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.”

Eugene Levy

“Schitt’s Creek” actor Eugene Levy, the honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, found himself stuck on the road as he tried to flee the community.

“The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” Levy said. “I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”

Steve Guttenberg

In what might be the most viral celebrity interview of the fire news cycle, the “Police Academy” star told a KTLA reporter on Tuesday that he had been working to clear abandoned cars on Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive in his neighborhood to make a path for fire trucks and emergency vehicles. On Thursday he did not indicate the condition of his home but told The Times that he was returning to survey the damage.

“Sunset Boulevard was a parking lot. Palisades Drive was a two-mile parking lot,” he said about the evacuation. “Before you knew it … everything was on fire — both sides of Palisades Drive, and all the police told people to leave their cars and start walking.”

“People were in hysterics,” he said. “People in wheelchairs, mothers trying to find their kids.”

Cameron Mathison

“General Hospital” star Mathison shared footage from his street showing the destruction that overtook his block in the Pacific Palisades, noting on Instagram stories that “the last property is where our house was.” Mathison showed footage of “what’s left of our beautiful home.”

In an appearance on “Cuomo,” the soap star said his family was safe but the losses had been devastating.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it. It just doesn’t feel real, and I know I’m not alone. I know there’s hundreds, if not thousands, of people out there getting affected by these fires, and it’s very cool to see you kind of touching base with a lot of them to share their stories too,” Mathison said, adding, “That video was taken early in the morning. … We’d been up, we’d been watching the news, and then I got up around 5, and they were reporting from our block, and I could see houses going down, and it looked insane, but I couldn’t see if our house was OK, and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I got my car, and I just kind of drove in through the streets. … I kind of made my way up almost in the dark, and the cloud, like, it was, it was an insane scene. And as I came around the corner, you know what used to be my house, our house, was, was no longer and it is, it doesn’t, doesn’t seem real.”

Diane Warren

“This is the last pic I took of Leah’s rock from my beach house,” the Grammy-winning songwriter wrote Wednesday on Instagram, sharing a photo from a Malibu beach amid the Palisades fire. “I’ve had this house for almost 30 years. It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite. 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.”

Melissa Rivers

Rivers, a TV personality and the daughter of famed comic Joan Rivers, told CNN that she fled her Palisades-area home on Wednesday and took whatever she could, including her mother’s Daytime Emmy Award for “The Joan Rivers Show.”

“Luckily, my office which is in — was in — my home… [I grabbed] whatever was there,” Melissa Rivers said. “In my personal situation, that’s it, that’s the end of everything that belonged to my family and the history of it. To be 100% honest, I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son … It’s amazing what you grab, it’s amazing what you take. I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo because I know I can find the photos. [But a drawing of hers] I can’t replace.”

Cary Elwes

“Update from the fire. Firstly, myself and my family are all safe, thank God,” the star of “The Princess Bride” wrote Wednesday on Instagram after the Palisades fire broke out. “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire. Our hearts go out to all the families impacted by this tragic event and we also wish 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. We want to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support. It really means a great deal to us.”

Ricki Lake

“It’s all gone. I can’t believe I am typing these words,” the former talk-show host wrote Wednesday on Instagram, sharing the loss of her “dream home.” “After a valiant and brave effort by our friend and hero @kirbykotler_ Ross and I lost our dream home. This description ‘dream home’ doesn’t suffice. It was our heaven on earth. The place where we planned to grow old together. We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved malibu for granted, not even for one second. I shared our sunset views almost daily with all of you.

“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event. Praying for all of my neighbors, my friends, my community, the animals, the firefighters and first responders. More to share soon of how we escaped with Dolly and not much else. For now I grieve.”

James Woods

The Emmy-winning actor fought back tears on air with CNN while discussing his newly renovated Pacific Palisades home and its evacuation during the Palisades fire. He said he and his wife, Sara Miller-Woods, had returned to the home last month after fixing up the property,

“I took this from the deck of our beautiful and much beloved home in the Palisades last night,” Woods wrote Wednesday on Instagram. “Now all the fire and smoke alarms are going off on our iPhones. It’s truly heartbreaking.”

Molly Sims

“This is so overwhelming and painful,” the model and actor wrote Wednesday on Instagram stories, posting footage of a drive through her community in the Pacific Palisades, which she said is “just gone.”

“Friends who have lost homes. Schools and playgrounds and places that are so special to our family and so many others. My heart is just hurting so much,” Sims wrote. “Will continue to update as I get info. I know we’ll get through this as a community, and I’m just astounded by the support and love that has been felt in this last day. But please pray for us and our community. We’re touch and go but will list all places to donate soon.” Speaking through tears in another story, Sims said her community was “beyond devastated” and she was waiting to see if her home survived. “It’s just a waiting game.”

John Goodman

The “Roseanne” alum’s Pacific Palisades home, which he purchased in 2008, was reduced to ashes, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained images of the property. It’s unclear if Goodman was living there at the time, as he also resides in New Orleans.

Miles Teller

According to People, Miles Teller’s Pacific Palisades home, situated between Palisades Bluffs and Palisades Village, burned down. He and wife Keleigh Teller reportedly bought the home in 2023.

Bozoma Saint John

“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and the former chief marketing officer at Netflix said that her Malibu home was burned in the Palisades fire.

“This is the house I wanted. The house I prayed for. The house I worked in blood, sweat and tears for. The house that I put a key pad instead of a key hole in the front door because I wanted all my family and friends to have a code and use the house whenever they wanted,” she wrote Thursday on Instagram, sharing images and clips of the property.

“This is the house where I found peace after battling with racist neighbors and a community that made me have to buy it in a trust within a trust so no one would know that widowed, single Black woman with a teenager was buying on the exclusively-held beach. This was my EFF YOU I’m here house. The house that I built a movie room dedicated to my sister so she could see her films in her own sanctuary. This is the house where I finally felt like I could choose to spend time… when I wanted to and how I wanted to. It is gone. This is an unimaginable loss. I grieve with the rest of Los Angeles as it burns … and even though I’ve found even words to write here, there’s nothing that I could say in this moment to describe this feeling.”

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody

The “Gossip Girl” alumna, who is married to the “Nobody Wants This” actor, reportedly lost the Pacific Palisades home that they purchased in 2019, according to TMZ and the Daily Mail.

Anthony Hopkins

Hopkins lost his $6-million Pacific Palisades home, the Daily Mail reported. The Oscar winner bought the home in 2001, and photos showed the four-bedroom, five-bath property reduced to rubble.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt

The “Hills” alumni “ended up losing our house” in the Palisades to the flames, Montag announced Wednesday. In a series of emotional videos shared on TikTok and Instagram, Montag told followers she yearned for home, detailed her experience “packing up a house” upon evacuation and said she was grateful “we have our health and our children.”

“Just trying to focus on the gratitude,” she said. Pratt, who also confirmed Wednesday “our house burned down,” said in a since-expired Instagram story that his parents’ home also had been destroyed in the fire.

Jhené Aiko

Singer Jhené Aiko says she is heartbroken over the loss of her “perfect little Pali dream” as she shared a photo of her coastal home ablaze on Instagram in a since-expired post. “Sorry we couldn’t save you. Thank you for the memories and thank God no one was inside.”

In a separate post, she said her home was “burned to the ground with all of our things.” Though grateful “we still have each other,” the singer said she and her family will be “starting from scratch.”

Tina Knowles

Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, said her Malibu bungalow was lost to the wildfire that blazed across the Pacific Palisades and the coast. “It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone,” she wrote on Instagram.

Evacuations

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

“This is surreal. I’m very scared now. packing,” Teigen wrote on Instagram stories as the Sunset fire erupted late Wednesday in the Hollywood Hills. “4 dogs. 4 kids and a bearded dragon walk into a hotel,” she added.

Mark Hamill

“Personal Fire Update: 7pm-Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH. 8:15 pm- Marilou, Trixie & I arrive at Chelsea’s house in Hollywood Most horrific fire since ‘93 … STAY SAFE! … ” the “Star Wars” star wrote Tuesday on Bluesky, later clarifying that “there ‘were’ small fires (gimme a break- we were fleeing for our lives).”

Kid Cudi

“Hey guys, had to evacuate my crib. Im safe, w my loved ones, dogs are safe,” the “Pursuit of Happiness” rapper and “X” actor wrote to fans in an Instagram story. “For all the folks who lost their homes, people that are dealing with this, my heart hurts for you and Im praying for us all and I send ALL my love to you and yours. If you have to evacuate, get out immediately. Dont hesitate. Be safe LA. Love you guys.”