“We lost everything… There’s nothing left. I saw our house go to ashes, helpless in the face of the flames which took everything away,” wrote Laeticia Hallyday on Instagram this Thursday morning, in a publication showing the flames devouring the residential district of Pacific Palisades, in Los Angeles. This posh haunt, known for its multi-million dollar luxury residences, is now completely ravaged by fires raging out of control in the surrounding area, causing scenes of chaos in the second largest city in the United States.
“It wasn’t just a house… It was our refuge, our rebirth after the chaos of mourning,” the widow of singer Johnny Hallyday testified on Instagram. It sheltered our dreams, our secrets, our promises for tomorrow. But above all, she helped us to get back on our feet, to rebuild ourselves after the unimaginable absence of my husband.”
Watching your house “burn live on television”
The famous American model Paris Hilton, also “heartbroken”, confided having seen her “Malibu house burning live on television”. Adam Brody (“Nobody Wants This”) and Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”) also claimed that their properties, purchased for $6.5 million in 2019, were nothing but remains and ashes.
On CNN, James Woods – with multiple roles in Hollywood, particularly in “Once Upon a Time in America”, “Casino” and “Virgin Suicides” – burst into tears after losing his house “whose renovation has been completed last month.” The actor, known for his pro-Trump positions, posted a video of the flames a few meters from his swimming pool.
Shortly before losing his home in the heights of Pacific Palisades, Spencer Pratt (series “The Hills”) also filmed the scene, before evacuating the area in the company of his wife, singer and actress Heidi Montag.
Billy Crystal (“When Harry Met Sally,” “Two Cops in Chicago”), whose home he had lived in for 46 years reportedly “burned to the ground,” is nevertheless optimistic for the future: “Pacific Palisades is a resilient community made up of extraordinary people and we know that in time, it will rise again.”
Evacuations by the thousands
For others, it’s time to evacuate like tens of thousands of other people locally. Mark Hamill (Luke in Star Wars), had to flee his property located not far from Malibu, a western sector also affected by the flames. Ben Affleck (“Pearl Harbor,” “Gone Girl”) also left his property purchased for $20.5 million in July, according to Business Insider. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Matt Damon and Michael Keaton have done the same, according to several American media.
Finally, there are those who, although safe, are waiting to know what state their property will be in, like Patrick Bruel, owner of a residence locally. “At this time, it is impossible to know if the house is still standing,” the French singer said on Wednesday. “There was no one in the house and the children are safe.”
With the destruction of these villas, the fire could be the costliest ever recorded: damage was estimated at $57 billion (55 billion euros) by AccuWeather.
