Burned celebrities’ houses include Neil Young’s home
Canadian rocker says his Malibu-area home is 2nd he has lost to wildfires
LOS ANGELES — Celebrities whose coastal homes have been damaged or destroyed in a Southern California wildfire or were forced to flee from the flames expressed sympathy and solidarity with less-famous people hurt worse by the state’s deadly blazes, and gave their gratitude to firefighters who kept them safe.
Canadian rocker Neil Young said on his website that he lost his Malibu-area home in the disaster, which he linked to climate change.
“Firefighters have never seen anything like this in their lives. I have heard that said countless times in the past two days, and I have lost my home before to a California fire, now another,” Young says on neilyoungarchives.com.
The longtime environmentalist also took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump for suggesting on Twitter that the fire was due to poor forest management.
“DT seems to be the Denier,” he writes. “It really is time for a reckoning with this unfit leader.”
Meanwhile, action star Gerard Butler posted a photo on Instagram that showed a burned-out structure and a badly scorched vehicle.
“Returned to my house in Malibu after evacuating,” Butler wrote.
“Heartbreaking time across California. Inspired as ever by the courage, spirit and sacrifice of firefighters.”
“Half-gone,” the “300” actor grumbled in his Scottish accent in a video that shows embers, ashes and what’s left of his home.
Robin Thicke’s Malibu home burned down entirely, according to his representative.
The 41-year-old singer said on Instagram that he, his girlfriend and his two kids are “safe and surrounded by friends and family” and were thankful to firefighters.
“As we drove to safety, they risked their lives trying to save our home,” Thicke said.
Camille Grammer Meyer of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” also lost her Malibu home on Saturday night, her publicist, Howard Bragman, said in an email to The Associated Press.
“Sadly my house couldn’t be saved,” Meyer, the ex-wife of actor Kelsey Grammer, wrote in an Instagram post that showed a huge house engulfed in flames.
Caitlyn Jenner was among the fortunate ones, learning Sunday that her house was spared.
“Yay, our house made it!” Jenner said in an Instagram video, then showed the bare, blackened landscape surrounding the house.
“It was devastating out here in Malibu,” Jenner said. “The hills are just totally scorched. Fried to say the least . . . . we’re very, very lucky.”
Many others including Orlando Bloom, Alyssa Milano, Lady Gaga, “The Office” actor Rainn Wilson and fashion designer Donna Karan were among evacuees. Some knew their homes were safe (for now) and waited for a chance to return. Others were in the dark, posting pictures of plumes of smoke and saying their houses were somewhere in there.
“Stay safe, California — and keep those prayers coming America,” Wilson said on his Twitter account, where over the weekend he was sharing photos of some of the more than 220 people missing in the huge wildfire in Northern California that has killed at least 29.
Milano said her house is “still in jeopardy” as strong winds kicked up again Sunday.
Southern California’s wildfire has killed two and destroyed at least 177 homes. The blaze started Thursday night and pushed toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, prompting evacuations in Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills and other nearby areas.
Paramount Ranch’s “Western Town,” a landmark film location dating back to 1927 that included a jail, hotel and saloon, burned to the ground. The TV series “Westworld” is among the many productions that have filmed at the ranch in the mountains west of Los Angeles.
“L.A. is a pretty great place but if fires are all we have to deal with, you know, we’re lucky,” “Rules of Engagement” actor Oliver Hudson told the AP at a charity event in Culver City. “There’s a lot of people in the world who are dealing with a lot more.”