James Woods evacuates as Palisades fire burns close to his home
2025-01-08
Category: entertainment

James Woods thanked first responders in posts shared online for keeping his community safe before evacuating his home as flames from the Palisades Fire roared through hills in his backyard. Woods, 77, captured images of the wildfire as he evacuated, and kept fans updated throughout the day as the flames reached "two houses" away from his own home. The wildfire sparked Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Steve Guttenberg sprang into action to help firefighters move cars stranded on Sunset Boulevard from residents fleeing the fire, according to local outlet KTLA. Los Angeles Fire Department officials confirmed the Palisades Fire broke out after 11 a.m. near the southeast side of Palisades Drive. Evacuation orders were issued as the blaze grew to approximately 200 acres in size. PACIFIC PALISADES WILDFIRE FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; MUSEUM CLOSES  Guttenberg – known for his roles in "Police Academy" and "Three Men and a Baby" – urged people who were leaving their vehicles behind while evacuating to also leave their keys, so crews could make their way through to the fire. "What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot," he told the outlet. "This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars. If you leave your car behind, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there." LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Actor James Woods documented the fire throughout the day, and thanked authorities for helping the community. "We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well," Woods wrote. "We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely.&nbsp;    "Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD." Fox News Digital contacted Woods' representative for comment. "Standing in my driveway getting ready to evacuate," Woods said in a clip shared on X. "We've got a lot of planes going over, dropping water, but… "   CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Woods' video appeared to show flames burning on the hillside near a home. It's unclear if the property in his video was damaged in the blaze. "Hope everybody gets out safely," he wrote in another post showing heavy smoke covering the sky.&nbsp; An hour later, Woods showed flames near the deck of his home in a video shared on X, in addition to "the view from one of our security cameras."    Maria Shriver shared a post, "Heartbreaking fire devastating our city. So many friends have evacuated as firefighters from all over are being called in. Stay safe, everyone!" As the fire grew in size, Amazon Studios took safety precautions and canceled the premiere of Jennifer Lopez's latest film, "Unstoppable." "In light of today’s safety concerns around heightened wind activity and fire outbreaks in Los Angeles, we regret to inform you that we are cancelling tonight’s premiere of 'Unstoppable,'" the studio confirmed in a statement with Fox News Digital.   "As much as we were looking forward to celebrating this wonderful and inspiring film with you, safety is our first priority."&nbsp; An extreme wildfire threat covers much of Southern California through Wednesday as a "life-threatening, destructive, widespread windstorm" is expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning, Los Angeles forecasters at the National Weather Service said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP FOX Weather's Heather Brinkmann contributed to this report