The famous Los Angeles area devastated by wildfires

Strangers often wander into Los Angeles’ upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities’ homes.

Now, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire sweeping through the area.

Across the city, tens of thousands were forced to evacuate their homes due to winds that sparked four fires. A state of emergency was declared, closing roads as people fled.

Among them, a number of famous faces were forced to flee their homes, including Star Wars’ Mark Hamill and Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who starred in films such as Nixon and Casino, described the evacuation of his home on social media and said he was unsure if it was still standing.

“It feels like losing a loved one,” he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is famously exclusive, with a home costing $4.5 million (£3.6 million) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

North Los Angeles is bordered to the south by a three-mile (4.8 km) stretch of beach on the Pacific Ocean, located between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is known to feel more like a small town than part of a sprawling metropolis, hosting trendy shops, cafes and a farmers market.

The area became coveted by celebrities and the wealthy in the 20th century due to its isolation and access to nature, compared to increasingly urbanized Los Angeles.

Houses vary in style from ultra-modern to winding, leafy Mediterranean streets, often screened from view by trees or nestled in the foothills of the nearby Temescal Valley.

But the Palisades Fire — which grew from 10 acres to nearly 3,000 acres in a matter of hours — shattered the area’s idyllic nature.

In an Instagram post, Hamill called the fire “the most horrific fire since 1993” — when it burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu.

He said he evacuated his Malibu home “at the last minute there.” [were] Small fires on both sides of the road.

Levy, best known for his role in the American Pie film series, spoke to local media about the “black and intense” smoke over the Temescal Valley.

“I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Pratt’s sister wrote on Instagram that reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire.

“I feel very sad for my brother Heidi and the children,” she said.

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Kelly also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Ms Tiller shared a photo of the fires and a broken heart emoji. She urged people to leave water bowls for animals they left behind while evacuating their homes.

Meanwhile, Police Academy actor Steve Guttenberg stayed behind to help the firefighters by moving cars to make room for oncoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys in their abandoned cars so they can be removed from the road.

“We really need people to move their cars,” he told news outlet KTLA. “This is not a parking lot.”

Not only are famous residents affected by the bushfires, iconic buildings in the area are also under threat.

Palisades Charter High School – which has served as a film set and has many notable people as former students – Local media reported that the fire sustained damage.

The fire-stricken school has been used in films including the 1976 horror classic “Carrie” and “Project X,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Past students include director JJ Abrams, musician William.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum located in the Palisades District that houses a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it was closed to the public and that some trees and plants at the site had been burned, but said that “no buildings have caught fire, and staff and the collection remain safe.”

Star-studded events scheduled to be held in the area have also been cancelled.

The premieres for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been cancelled, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.