The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9.Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press
As firefighters continue to fight the six major fires devastating Los Angeles County, the homes of celebrities have been destroyed and damaged, and landmarks are under threat.
“I guess Google Maps no longer needs to blur the image of our house,” Canadian record producer and musician Greg Wells said on Instagram, on Wednesday. He posted a photo of charred trees and what appears to be an incinerated house.
Wells, of Peterborough, Ont., is a two-time Grammy Award winner who recently mixed, co-produced and performed music for the blockbuster film, Wicked. He has worked with artists such as Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, Elton John and Kid Cudi.
Cudi, an American rapper, revealed on Wednesday that he was safe after fleeing his house with his family and pets. “Hey guys, had to evacuate my crib,” he posted on Instagram. “I’m safe, with my loved ones, dogs are safe.”
Canadian musician Raine Maida, of the rock band Our Lady Peace, posted a photo with the caption, “Fire is a glutton. Palisades nightmare. We remain evacuated.” Maida is married to singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. The couple posted a video on Instagram saying, “We’re safe. We’re here in a hotel.”
The affluent Pacific Palisades is one of the areas affected by the fires. The home of Canada’s Eugene Levy, the neighbourhood’s honorary mayor, is now gone. “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” he told the Los Angeles Times as he evacuated the area on Tuesday. “I couldn’t see any flames, but the smoke was very dark.”
Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, revealed they had lost their Pacific Palisades home of 46 years.
“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” the actor said in a statement on Wednesday. He said the couple had raised their children and grandchildren in the home. “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.”
On Instagram, Paris Hilton said she was “heartbroken beyond words” about her lost house. “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 fires around the famed Hollywood sign high in the Hollywood Hills apparently have been contained.
The Hollywood Bowl, the bandshell that since its opening in 1922 has hosted everyone from Billie Holiday to the Beatles to Yo-Yo Ma, was evacuated Wednesday, but the evacuation order has now been lifted.
While not in imminent danger, the Troubadour and the Whisky a Go Go, historic nightclubs in West Hollywood, cancelled concerts at the venues.
More than one celebrity has publicly criticized the city for not burying its power lines.
Comedian, podcaster and radio personality Adam Carolla posted a photo on X of damaged lines he says are 60 metres from his studio.
Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa echoed Carolla’s frustration.
“I tried to bury my power lines around my house,” he wrote on X. “The city denied me over and over even when I offered to pay the full cost of it. I told them that I was not doing it for cosmetic reasons but for fire mitigation.”
Eight people, two dogs and a cat found refuge in George Stroumboulopoulos’s Los Angeles home as wildfires raged through parts of the city, fuelled by ferocious Santa Ana winds.
The Canadian media personality said he opened his doors to friends whose homes were evacuated or destroyed by the flames, as he watched the Sunset fire – one of the smaller blazes burning in the city – spark in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday and start to spread not far from his house.
Stroumboulopoulos said much of the city is rallying to take care of each other.
“We’re out there delivering boxes and moving stuff and bringing people in and things like that, and passing food off to different places,” he said. “And then you watch everybody come together and do their thing.”
The former Strombo Show host said some people are even leaving keys in their cars “in case somebody needs to move the car or get out.”
Montreal-born actor Elias Toufexis, a regular on Star Trek: Discovery, was forced to flee his Calabasas home with his family on Wednesday as spot fires erupted at the top of his street.
Toufexis, who’s been living in L.A. for seven years, said he’s seen wildfires before but knew this time felt different – the powerful winds were an unmistakable warning.
“I weigh 200 pounds. I stepped out of my house and I was getting knocked over,” he said. “The winds were so bad and it was so dry in L.A. I thought, ‘If a fire starts, we’re in big trouble.’”
The actor said he’s frustrated by the callousness of some social-media commenters who say they feel no sympathy for entertainment industry figures whose properties have been razed.
“It drives me crazy. I’m an actor, I’m on Star Trek and it’s great, but I’m still making X amount of dollars a year and it’s really expensive to live here. I’m not dancing in money. So if my house burns down, I’m going to be in big trouble,” he said.
“This town is full of working people. It’s not just celebrities who live here.”
With a report from The Canadian Press.
