A huge, 3000-acre wildfire is currently devastating Los Angeles, with people fleeing their homes and neighborhoods as quickly as they can. As the fire spread on Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild announced that they would not do a live, in-person announcement of this year’s SAG nominations out of “an abundance of caution for the safety of our presenters, guests, and staff.” SAG also urged everyone to stay safe.
One of the biggest issues with this fire is how fast it’s moving, and that’s due to the wind – the California firefighters are battling wind gusts as high as 80 mph. There’s also a high population density in the Pacific Palisades area, which is currently engulfed in flames. Basically, people are trapped because of traffic, because cars have been left on the road, and firefighters can’t move freely into the area. A local LA news crew managed to get into the area and they were interviewing local residents who were staying behind to help the firefighters and clear the roads. One of those local residents was GOATed ‘80s actor Steve Guttenberg:
Steve Guttenberg…hero of the #PalisadesFire staying back helping move cars for fire trucks to get through pic.twitter.com/3B8gu9FUpb
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) January 8, 2025
What a man. I can’t believe it didn’t click for the reporter that he was speaking to Steve Guttenberg either – I know a lot of sh-t was happening, but damn! Open the schools, that’s Steve Guttenberg! Anyway, I hope everyone in the LA area stays safe. This looks like one of the worst wildfires in that area since the horrific Woolsey fire in Malibu in 2018.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- The Mule World Premiere held at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 401903593, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Steve Guttenberg, Credit line: Adriana M. Barraza/Wenn/Avalon
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- WESTWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – DECEMBER 10: Actor Steve Guttenberg arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘The Mule’ held at the Regency Village Theatre on December 10, 2018 in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 534881953, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289 – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Image Press Agency/Image Press Agency/Avalon
Aww, I’ve always had a major soft spot for Steve Guttenberg. What a good dude. I hope everyone gets out of there safely.
What a good man, helping others and getting out the message. I hope everyone and their pets manage to get out safely. That’s frightening.
I liked that he was just giving practical advice to help people and the responders. Probably time for a Three Men and a Baby re-watch.
Welcome to our new normal.
This cheered me up and reminded me of Steve Buscemi, a former fire fighter, showing up to help after 9 /11 by volunteering at his former fire station.
This just reignited a 35 year old crush. Lol. Good man, and I hope people are able to get out, the fire looks terrifying. I can’t imagine being trapped in it.
I’ve lived here just about all of my life, and I don’t remember seeing such a bad fire, spreading SO fast, covering such a wide swath of area. Embers were/still are being spread 2-3 miles away just from the wind gusts. My nephews’ elementary school (Pali Charter) is completely burned down, and their old HS (Pali High) is also devastated; don’t know how much is left of it now. Between my sister, myself, and my nephews we know a lot of people who’ve lost their homes to the fire so far. Palisades is going to be almost completely burned to the ground by the time this is over.
Last night, my sister had gotten a “prepare to evacuate” from the city of Santa Monica, as the fire jumped to northern SM. Thank God it didn’t spread down to her… yet. No one knows what will happen today, as there’s still high wind warnings through tomorrow.
Prayers for the firefighters/first responders, for all the volunteers, and for all the people who’ve lost so much. 💔
It’s so scary when the fires are in heavily populated areas. The gridlock of people trying to flee, and then abandoning their cars, preventing the people behind them from getting out is a nightmare.
My office had to evacuate yesterday, as the fires were just north of us and headed south. (I was WFH though)
Supposedly the winds will die down at 6pm. Let’s hope we make it there.
The wind made my neighbor’s front window explode when she opened her patio door. My dog got hit by flying plastic when I took her outside. The wind is so ferocious. 50mph in the middle of the city, it’s insane.
Is there any kind of rule, spoken or otherwise, about making sure abandoned vehicles are left as accessible as possible? Like leaving the keys?
I am so sorry for your family! I lived in LA for several years 20 years ago and the fires were typically way inland and in much less populated areas. I can’t imagine having to flee Pacific Palisades, especially if you are up in the hills. There aren’t enough roads out! Last I looked the evacuation zone is down almost to Montana in SM, which is soooo densely populated. It’s terrifying. There are now fires in Pasadena and my daughter’s friend was woken up in the middle of the night by police telling them to evacuate. That one spread super quickly too.
I just hope they can get the fires under control today once the winds calm down. I hope everyone can get to safety and the destruction is kept to a minimum.
His Instagram page is really wonderful: kind, thoughtful, earnest snippets of life.
Agree! I follow him and adore his little posts about life and being kind. He’s a gem of a human being.
He’s also still repping Long Island with that Bethpage hat!
What a good guy.
The fires look awful. Wishing the best for everyone there.
Steve Guttenberg is the only celebrity I ever ran into on the street in New York City.
My best friend teaches at a school in the Pacific Palisades. She and everyone else there got out safely yesterday but she said she’s never seen anything like this fire, and she’s lived in LA for 20 years. I cried with relief when she called me back yesterday to tell me she’s okay. She’s not sure the school is still standing.
Prayers for all of you in the area to be safe.
In all this, it was kind of funny that the news guy was trying to end the interview, even though Steve introduced himself. You just know that someone said in his ear, “Don’t be an idiot, that’s Steve Guttenberg, keep him talking.”
Another tip that will save lives, if you know there’s a chance you’ll be evacuated back your car into your driveway, that makes for an faster, safer getaway. One of the problems with the Oakland fire in ’91 was the cars backing onto the street and stopping the cars leaving. Everyone has to stop to let you in, etc. If you exit your drive front first then you can merge in quickly.
Anytime there are high winds around me, which usually starts these fires in the hills, I back my car in whether there are fires yet or not.
Excellent tip & one I learned working for the Forest Service. Park your vehicle pointing in the direction you’re going to leave, saves time, saves lives. Applies to fire zones, tsunami zones, hurricane zones equally.
Oh and one more I learned from one of my supervisors: when looking for a place to live, make sure there’s more than one way in & out.
This whole thing is bringing back memories of the Lahaina fire from a little over a year ago. Horrifying. Cars abandoned, clogging the road, people fleeing into the ocean, block after block of devastation. Hoping for the best for all in SoCal today & the coming days.
Oh my goodness, this looks so scary. I’ll take a hurricane any day over a fire.
At this point, it’s not just the Palisades fire. There’s three huge, uncontained fires in Los Angeles. Palisades, Altadena, and Sylmar.
So many friends of mine have had to evacuate, and a lot of people I know have lost their homes or were driving out as their streets were catching on fire.
In the 30 years I’ve lived in Los Angeles, I’ve never seen it this bad.
My heart goes out to everyone that lost their homes. Except for James Woods. F that guy.
But I hope everyone can stay safe and evacuate. Stuff is not worth dying over. Just get yourself, family, and animals out of there.
Just a terrible, terrible situation. Please be safe and take care of each other.