Dick van Dyke was forced to crawl to safety in Malibu wildfires (Image: Getty Images )
Dick van Dyke has revealed that his neighbours “saved” him while he was struggling to evacuate his home this week.
On Monday (December 9), a fire erupted just before 11pm which raged through California’s Malibu coast, causing many star-studded residents to flee their homes for shelter. Stars affected by the Franklin fire in the Serra Retreat area include Star Wars legend Mark Hamill and the favourite.
As the star celebrates his 99th birthday, he revealed how three kind neighbours helped him escape the wildfire which has burned more than 2,600 acres.
Recalling the traumatising event, he explained how he struggled to get to safety in the blaze. He attempted to unsnarl his fire hose outside when three residents turned up to assist him.
Speaking to the Today programme, via , he revealed: “It was coming over the hill. You [could] see it. We got out of here, I was trying to crawl to the car.
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The actor revealed three neighbours “saved him” (Image: NBC News)
“I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up. And three neighbours came and carried me out… came back and put out a little fire in the guest house. Saved me.”
In a video which was shown on the daytime show, a voice added that van Dyke was “soaking wet” when he tried to escape his sprawling property. Security cameras surrounding his home showed him leaving with his doting wife Arlene Silver and their pets.
He reassured fans that they had made it to safety with a post on , but raised a concern for one of their missing cat’s Bobo.
He wrote: “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except Bobo escaped as we were leaving. We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Fortunately, both Van Dyke’s home and his sweet cat survived the blaze as they issued an update on Facebook on Thursday (December 12). He wrote: “We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back this morning.
“There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”
It comes after the Marry Poppins star’s lavish home feautred in a music video for Coldplay’s new hit single All My Love, which celebrated the actors decades-long career in .
The video featured moments of Van Dyke with his family, moments of reflection and footage of his many awards and accolades. In the video, the actor reflected on his life and confessed that he was “not afraid” of death.
“I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now. But, I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it,” Van Dyke said in the video. “I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual, that I’m going to be all right.”