The famous Los Angeles area destroyed by fires

In the affluent Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, strangers wander around trying to see the homes of celebrities.

Now, however, the local streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-hectare fire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes because the wind has ignited four fires. A state of emergency has been declared, and the roads have been blocked by people fleeing.

Among them, several famous faces have had to leave their homes, including Star Wars star Mark Hamill and Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described his house as empty on social media, saying he wasn’t sure if it was still standing.

“It feels like losing a loved one,” she wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a home costing an average of $4.5m (£3.6m) in November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The North LA suburb is bordered to the south by a three-mile (4.8 km) stretch of beach on the Pacific Ocean, located between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It’s known to feel more like a small town than part of a sprawling city, with trendy shops, cafes and a farmers’ market.

In the 19th century, the area was sought after by the famous and the wealthy because of its solitude and access to nature, in contrast to the increasingly urbanized Los Angeles.

Homes of varying styles, from ultra-modern to Mediterranean to leafy, winding streets, often hidden from view by trees or nestled into the foothills of nearby Temescal Canyon.

But the Palisades fire – which grew from 10 hectares to almost 3,000 in a few hours – has broken the idyllic nature of the area.

In an Instagram post, Hamill called the fire “the worst wildfire since ’93,” burning 18,000 acres, destroying 323 homes in nearby Malibu.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu “so there were small fires on both sides of the road in the last hour.”

Levy, who rose to fame for her role in the American Pie series, told local media about the “black, intense” smoke over Temescal Canyon.

“I couldn’t see any fire, but the smoke was very dark,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in a fire, Pratt’s sister wrote on Instagram.

“My heart is overflowing for my brother, Heidi and the children,” she said.

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Ms Teller shared a picture of the fires and a broken heart emoji. He asked people to leave water containers for animals left behind when evacuating their homes.

Meanwhile, actor Steve Guttenberg, of Police Academy fame, stayed behind to help the firefighters, moving cars to make room for the incoming fire trucks.

He asked residents to leave their keys in their abandoned cars so they could get out of the way.

“We really need people to move their cars,” he told news station KTLA. “This is not a parking lot.”

It’s not just famous residents affected by the fire; prominent buildings in the area are also under threat.

Palisades Charter High School – which has served as the setting for the film and boasts several notable alumni – it has been damaged by fire, as reported by the local media.

The burned-out school was used in films including the 1976 horror film Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Alumni include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades and has a large collection of art and works of art, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed Tuesday that it was closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation had burned, but said “there are no structures on fire, and the staff and collection remain safe.”

Star-studded events in the area have also been cancelled.

The premieres of Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been canceled, as well as the live nomination ceremony for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.