Actor Steve Guttenberg helps Palisades fire first responders as flames rage, 'It's a ghost town'
2025-01-08
Category: entertainment

Steve Guttenberg sprang into action to help firefighters and moved cars stranded on Sunset Boulevard by residents fleeing the fire, he exclusively told Fox News Digital. "It's kind of like Zombieland, you know, there's all these abandoned cars all over the street." 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. 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. WATCH: Actor Steve Guttenberg helps Palisades fire first responders as flames rage, 'It's a ghost town'  "What people do is that they abandon their cars, and it's a crisis, and they don't leave their keys in their cars," Guttenberg told Fox News Digital. "What happens is, the fire trucks can't get up the street because they have all these abandoned cars with no ability to move them. So what I was doing was helping out move cars and put them up on the hill and clear the way for the fire department." Guttenberg noted the blaze was "the biggest fire that we've ever seen in the Palisades. It's enormous." "I was able to make it up here, sort of a pocket where there is no fire. So everybody's safe, and I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town." "We've had small fires, but this is definitely the biggest one, and it's just burning out of control in certain areas," he said. "I was able to make it up here, sort of a pocket where there is no fire. So everybody's safe, and I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town. Everybody's gone. And and I think that's what's important. That's what it should be in a big fire like this."&nbsp; 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. WATCH: Steve Guttenberg helps first responders fighting Palisades fire  "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." By 4 p.m., he thanked "the wonderful people who've reached out to us" in another post on X. "Thank you for being so concerned. Just letting you know that we were able to evacuate successfully. I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing, but sadly houses on our little street are not." He also noted that his neighbor's house caught fire, but they were safely evacuated. He added after 5 p.m.: "We cleared and built pathways on our hillside with sprinkler systems that can be remotely managed. We also did brush clearance per local fire prevention mandates. I’m hoping it has done some good. It’s hard to beat the winds this time of year though, if someone is careless."    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!" Molly Sims shared "This is my backyard you guys. Please get out. Help your neighbors, help families, please do what you can. We are evacuated and safe but please send prayers for the Palisades." Spencer Pratt watched an airtanker make a drop over the flames. Actor Emile Hirsch posted video of the fire from the beach on his Instagram Stories.&nbsp; "It is super windy today, there is a fire going on in Palisades," "THe Darkest Hour" actor said while showing the fire over his shoulder.&nbsp;  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 News Digital's Larry Fink and FOX Weather's Heather Brinkmann contributed to this report