Steve Guttenberg is among the citizens who have been volunteering their time as devastating wildfires continue to rage across the Los Angeles area of Southern California.
The actor, known for films like “Police Academy” and “Three Men and a Baby,” was seen Tuesday urging residents of LA’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood to leave their keys behind in their cars so that they could be moved to make way for first responders in emergency vehicles.
“What’s happening is, people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot,” he told local news channel KTLA. “If you leave your car on Palisades Drive, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car … so that these fire trucks can get up there.”
Watch KTLA’s interview with Guttenberg below.
Despite his decadeslong Hollywood career, Guttenberg was not recognized by KTLA reporter Gene Kang at first. It was only after Guttenberg, who has resided in Pacific Palisades for about 30 years, identified himself as an actor that Kang said he recognized him.
In a separate interview with CNN, Guttenberg said he hadn’t “seen anything like this in my entire life, and I don’t think many people have.” He also discussed his experience helping to rescue pets belonging to a neighbor who happened to be out of town as the fires raged.
“This is the time for us to remember that we’re part of a community,” Guttenberg said, adding that people “have to help each other and be kind to each other. If you see somebody who needs help, help them. Ask them what they need.”
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As of Wednesday afternoon, at least two people had died and tens of thousands had been ordered to evacuate as the wildfires inched their way toward highly populated places like Calabasas and Santa Monica.
Actor Mark Hamill and singer Mandy Moore were reportedly among the celebrities who were forced to flee the area.