Southern California Fires Uproot Many Hollywood Celebrities
Some evacuated residents are now returning home and posting thoughts, experiences on social media
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of firefighters in California are battling deadly wildfires in the northern and southern parts of the state. At least 44 people have died as a result of the fires. Many more have lost their homes. The wildfires in Southern California have been sweeping through many affluent communities near Los Angeles. Some evacuated residents are now returning home. Among them are celebrities who posted their thoughts and experiences on social media. Actor Gerard Butler posted a video on his Twitter page, showing the charred and blackened remains of homes in his Malibu neighborhood. "It's like a war zone, heartbreaking," he said in the video. Other celebrities tweeted status updates. Singer and actress Miley Cyrus also lost her home in Malibu's beach community. In a tweet, she wrote, "My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family and friends stand strong." The wildfires also forced actress Alyssa Milano and director Guillermo del Toro to evacuate as they updated their fans on Twitter. Del Toro wrote about the home of his collection of fantasy and horror memorabilia: As the wildfires burned for days, thousands of firefighters were mobilized to contain the blaze. "I've been doing this job for 31 years and probably in the last five, maybe seven years, every year seems to get worse. A lot of that has to do with the recent drought and the drought that we're still going through. And with that, that drought killed a lot of vegetation. And so, that dead vegetation is prone to burning, obviously," said Cal Fire Unit Chief Scott Jalbert. Low humidity and high winds also contributed to what has made the wildfires so devastating to residents.