By Hannah Lang and Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) – Numerous film and television personalities, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, and James Woods, found themselves compelled to evacuate their residences as they grappled with the uncertainty of whether their homes had succumbed to the rampant wildfires raging in the vicinity of Los Angeles.
A day subsequent to vacating his residence in Pacific Palisades, an upscale neighborhood nestled between the coastal towns of Santa Monica and Malibu, James Woods recounted the harrowing ordeal as an “inferno” where “every abode surrounding us was engulfed in flames.” Woods, a decorated actor renowned for his roles in “Salvador,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” and “Any Given Sunday,” disclosed on CNN that they were situated at the very heart of the fire’s ignition, amidst a maelstrom of chaos akin to an inferno.
The unrelenting, arid winds have only served to exacerbate the conflagration encircling Pacific Palisades, compounded by the area’s intricate, serpentine thoroughfares, coupled with the mass exodus of thousands under evacuation orders, resulting in protracted delays and gridlock for those endeavoring to flee the wildfire. Several evacuees were compelled to abandon their vehicles on Tuesday.
Among those ensnared in the traffic congestion was actor Eugene Levy from the TV series “Schitt’s Creek.” “I couldn’t discern any flames, although the smoke hung ominously dark,” he informed the Los Angeles Times.
Mandy Moore, recognized for her portrayal in the TV series “This is Us,” conveyed on Instagram that she and her family had evacuated due to the perilous proximity of the flames. “So devastated by the devastation and loss,” she lamented. “Uncertain whether our abode endured.”
Reality TV personalities Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag tragically lost their residence in Pacific Palisades to the wildfire, according to TMZ, which added that the couple had managed to safely evacuate with their children earlier in the day. Pratt shared a video on Instagram depicting a plane dousing a mountainside shrouded in smoke with water.
Pacific Palisades, replete with opulent hillside estates, is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and embraced by the Santa Monica Mountains. Boasting a median home valuation of $4.5 million, the locale is home to a constellation of film and music luminaries, in addition to housing the Getty Villa, one of Los Angeles’ most revered museums.
Beyond the Palisades inferno, several other blazes continue to scorch the city. California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a state of emergency, cautioning that the wildfires are capricious and beyond containment. “This is an evolving scenario,” remarked Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors during a press briefing on Wednesday. “Fires are proliferating across the entire county, stretching our resources thin.”
The conflagrations have compelled organizers
