‘We took our truck and knocked the gate down so friends could get out’
Danielle de Wolfe speaks with star Rob Lowe about new drama 9-1-1: Lone Star
The California wildfires of 2017 were considered some of the most destructive in the US state’s history at the time, destroying around 1.3 million acres of land.
Tearing through vast expanses of wooded hillside, shrub land and residential streets, the sense of impending danger brought local communities closer together.
Just one month after the intense blazes subsided, a series of mud flows struck, caused by heavy rain and exacerbated by the lack of living vegetation that would usually help stabilise the soil.
Actor Rob Lowe was one of those who found himself caught in the midst of both events.
“Twenty three people were killed in my little town here, four years ago,” he recalls solemnly. “The area I live in – Montecito, southern California – suffered major wildfires and major flash flooding. During that time, all of the first responders [were] staged in my driveway, in my garage; I helped house them and I watched first-hand what they do, how they do it, in real time.”
A harrowing experience that saw flames come within a quarter of a mile of Lowe’s home, the actor and his family found themselves poised with hoses, having “made the call to not evacuate”.
However, the fires of 2017 were not the first Lowe and his family had seen. The surrounding areas have been increasingly affected by natural disasters.
“A few years before that, there was another wildfire about a mile away and we had friends who were trapped in their house,” says Lowe.
“We took our truck and knocked the gate down so they could get out. Embers were falling into our clothes as we did it.
“That’s the thing about living in California; you’re going to have a front-row seat for stuff like that.”
With the 2017 fires coinciding with preparation for Lowe’s on-screen role as New
York firefighter Owen Strand in US procedural drama 9-1-1: Lone Star, research does not get much more immersive.
Centred around the fire, police and ambulance departments of fictional company 126, the series also stars model and Armageddon actress Liv Tyler – daughter of musician Steven Tyler, as paramedic captain Michelle Blake.
Following a move from Manhattan, New York, to Austin, Texas, Lowe’s character faces a plethora of lifethreatening situations as he attempts to rebuild the fire department following the loss of many of its crew.
Drawing from his own encounters with Californian fire services, it’s a scenario the actor felt well prepared for.
“I just saw what amazing heroes they are and how hard they work and what terrible conditions they deal with, day in and day out,” says Lowe, 57.
“And that was the basis for the reality of playing this character, for me.”
Best known for his roles in Parks and Recreation, The West Wing and St Elmo’s Fire, the Emmy-nominated actor’s credits list also notably features 2015 release The Grinder – a show in which he played television lawyer Dean Sanderson who believes his telly stint qualifies him to run his families’ law firm.
● Stream 9-1-1: Lone Star series one on Star on Disney+ from Friday