‘It was kind of a guttural pain and disbelief and shock and fear as I was approaching my property and not seeing the house,’ says actor whose home was consumed by fire
On Thursday, the weather service said winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour are expected, with wind gusts of 40 to 60 miles per hour.
‘Totally decimated’: Video shows what’s left of actor’s L.A. home
Actor Cameron Mathison, who starred in television dramas All My Children and General Hospital, shared a video of his Los Angeles property on Instagram on Wednesday.
“We are safe but this is what’s left of our beautiful home. Our home where our kids were raised and where they wanted to raise their own someday. Thanks to all who reached out and checked in. Can’t respond to all so wanted to give an update here.” he wrote. “Sending so many prayers to everyone being affected by these fires.”
In the video, the home is reduced to rubble as fire still flickers and smoke rises in the distance along with massive flames. The sky glows orange.
The actor documented his return to the Altadena neighbourhood on Instagram stories. Shrieks and cries can be heard in the video, as he drives down roads ruined by fire. In an interview with CNN, Mathison said he had “never heard those sort of sounds come out of me before so it was very odd.”
“It was kind of a guttural pain and disbelief and shock and fear as I was approaching my property and not seeing the house,” he said.
Mathison said he was watching the news early in the morning and saw homes in his neighbourhood being shown. He couldn’t see if his home had been spared. He said he “couldn’t take it anymore” so he got into his car and drove to the property.
“When it came into our stretch of houses, it was just totally decimated,” he said.
“Our block was pretty much nothing left. It looked like, in many cases, there were no houses ever built there.”
“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,” said Hilton in a post on Instagram. “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.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis appeared on The Tonight Show and nearly teared up talking about how the city was affected by the fires.
“As you know, where I live’s on fire right now, literally the entire city of the Pacific Palisades is burning,” she said. “It’s f—ing gnarly, you guys. It’s just a catastrophe.”
She urged viewers to support the American Red Cross.
“Do anything you can,” she said, “anything in your community to help people.”
Actresses Anna Farris and Mandy Moore as well as reality stars, husband and wife Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, evacuated due to the fire.
“The one positive sign I saw as our house burned down was ours sons bed burned in the shape of a heart,” wrote Pratt on Instagram. “A sign of how much love was in this house so thankful for all the years and memories there with our family.”
‘Historic’ wildfires in L.A. burn down more than a thousand structures
Three of the five fires — Palisades, Eaton and Sunset — are at zero per cent containment on Thursday morning. The Hurst fire was at 10 per cent containment and the Lidia fire, the most contained, was at 40 per cent.
In a post on X, Newsom said more than 7,500 firefighting personnel “are on the ground working with local and federal partners to respond to California’s ongoing historic wildfires.”
Quebec planes, B.C. helicopters help battle LA fires
Firefighting aircraft provided by the Quebec government and a B.C.-based company are helping to battle the massive wildfires. They include a pair of Canadian-made water-bombing planes out of Quebec, as well as Coulson Aviation’s helicopters that the company says are “on the frontline” of the fight. Coulson says in a social media post that its crews are “braving high winds and challenging conditions” in the fight against the Palisades fire.
Coulson, which is based in Port Alberni, B.C., but also operates in the United States and Australia, says its aircraft in the fight include its double-rotor Chinook fleet and a smaller Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
A spokesperson for Quebec’s Transport Department says the two Quebec government planes have been actively involved in fighting the fires since Tuesday.
The Canadian-made CL-415 planes are sent to California each fall as part of an annual contract that has existed for more than 30 years.
Stephane Caron of Quebec’s forest fire protection agency, SOPFEU, said the planes are dispatched with their own pilots, co-pilots and technicians.
With additional reporting by the Canadian Press
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