THE RICH AND FLAMEOUS
Desperate battle amid stars' calamity
Firefighters in Southern California struggled Tuesday to corralral a raging blaze that has alreadyready consumed an area the size of Denver — hampered by ferociouscious Santa Ana windswin expectedpected to last at least tthrough Wednesday. The giant Woolsey Fire is now roaring in the wildernesswil area of the Santa Monica Mountains near the ccommunitynity of Lake SheSherwood, prompting officials to franticallycally drop fire reretardant and watewater from aircrafaircraft. WWinds reareaching 50 mph coupled with soaring temperatures, dry brush and lack of rain are making the perfect storm for potential explosive fire growth, officials said.
“We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us,” said Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen.
Still, officials remained cautiously optimistic that the wind’s direction would keep flames away from residential areas and that the blaze would be contained by Thursday.
Two people have been killed in the inferno that’s reduced 435 buildings — most of them homes — to cinders. Another 48 people have died in the blaze in Northern California.
Officials said the number of structures destroyed in the Woolsey Fire is expected to rise “significantly” once damage-assessment crews finish their work.
Among the homes burned to the ground was actress Kim Basinger’s Malibu mansion. Images showed the home gutted — save for a couple bricks and the chimney.
Two cars were parked near the singed ground: one covered in dust and the other burned- and hollowed-out.
Basinger’s daughter with actor
Alec Baldwin, Ireland Baldwin, revealed her mother’s home was destroyed in a series of tweets, where she also showed her chipoff-the-ol’-block temper.
The 23-year-old model slammed a police officer for accusing her of looting when she was trying to save precious belongings from the home Sunday before the winds intensified.
He “stopped us and refused to let us in because I don’t have my Malibu address on my ID,” Ireland tweeted.
“Not only was he a d--k, but he had 0 compassion and he literally accused us of being looters and threatened us that we were going to be arrested if we kept giving him trouble.”
Actorr Gerard Butler re-returned toto his Malibu prop-property to surveysurvey the damage, chokingg up as he talked about people who had “lost everything.”verything.”
“I feelel bad . . . There are so manyany communities here, trailer parks and suburbanan working-class houses that are com-completely destroyed,destroyed, and peopleeople have lost everything,”erything,” the “300”00” star said, takingaking a momentnt to composese himselff and lookingg down at the grounground. A soursource told The Post that tha they saw Butler, 49, 49 on Saturdayday mornmorning at a localcal organic-orgcoffee chain in a worn plaid shirt “looklooking downtrodden”trodden” and a “overall down in the dumps and concerned” as he munched on avocado avo toast with a female friend. friend Meanwhile, Me Philadelphia Phila Phillies Phil manager age Gabe Kaplh pler house lost in the his blaze, b too.
But “The Bachelor” mansion was saved when teenager Ava Friedman, who lives next door to the ABC property, alerted firefighters.
“We literally flagged them down and said, ‘OK, our house is down there, and the house next door is on fire. Can you please do what you can?’ ” the 16-yearold Friedman recalled.
Pop star Miley Cyrus, who lost part of her Malibu compound, donated $500,000 to the Malibu Foundation through from her charity, The Happy Hippie Foundation, with her fiancé actor Liam Hemsworth.
A statement from the couple said they “are very grateful to be safe along with their animals.”
Local resident Mark Bakalor said his mom called to tell him she knew for sure their home was gone — because she was watching it burn on TV.
A couple hours later, Bakalor was watching footage of his father-in-law’s house up in flames.
But nearby firefighters were at least able to make an especially poignant save from a home: four ultrasound pictures of the unborn son of Shane Clark that had been taped to a fridge.
“They’re the only copies we have,” said Clark, 28, who is expecting the boy with his wife in about four months. “I’m very thankful.”