The Hills stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montague’s home engulfed in Pacific Palisades fire
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Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montague’s Los Angeles home has been affected by the escalating wildfires in the Pacific Palisades area.
On Tuesday morning (7 January), at least 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate a rapidly growing wind-driven wildfire in California as the blaze spread from just 20 acres to more than 3,000 in a matter of hours. The affluent coastal neighbourhood, located on the city’s west side, is home to many Hollywood stars and A-list celebrities including Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Steve Guttenberg and Michael Keaton.
While there have been no injuries in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, a number of homes have been damaged in the blaze and more than 250 firefighters have been on the scene.
Pratt and Montague, best known for appearing in the reality series The Hills, were reportedly evacuated from their Los Angeles home as it became engulfed in the wildfire, according to TMZ. The publication reports that their family was safely evacuated to another location.
The pair share two sons together, Gunner, born in 2017, and Ryker, born in 2022.
On Tuesday, Pratt shared a video on his Instagram story hours before having to evacuate his home, in which an aerial firefighter vehicle was seen in the distance flying ahead dumping water on the nearby mountains to try to contain the blaze. The Independent has contacted their representatives for comment.
Several Hollywood events including the premieres of Unstoppable, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Gosling-produced Wolf Man have been cancelled as a result of the wildfires.
Steve Guttenberg, also a resident of Pacific Palisades, told the media that the wildfire burning through his community was “the most unbelievable I’ve ever seen”.
Appearing on CNN, the actor said he was one of 30,000 residents placed under evacuation orders after the fire began around 10.30am that morning. He painted a vivid picture of the daytime scene, recalling that “the sky was dark, like it was nighttime,” due to thick smoke.
Guttenberg said that people trying to leave the area led to “bumper-to-bumper” traffic, which meant the fire services could not get through. Eventually, people began to flee their vehicles but were urged to leave the keys inside.
“The cars were bumper-to-bumper traffic for over two miles and it was dangerous, the police were coming. I spent all day moving these cars up on the hill, trying to [move them] so the fire trucks could get through,’” said Guttenberg.
“Trees were coming down on Sunset Boulevard,” he recalled, adding that devastation was all around him. Gelson’s grocery store, the Palisades Playhouse theater, and the Palisades Woman’s Club were all burning, he said.
“All of Temescal Canyon is on fire, both sides. All the houses; the school is on fire,” he said.
California governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday afternoon that “many structures” have been destroyed in the wildfires.
The Eaton fire, burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, expanded to 400 acres on Tuesday.
City spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said at least 550 houses were within the evacuation zones of the Eaton Canyon fire. The fire would be especially challenging to combat, she noted, as extreme winds had grounded firefighting aircraft.
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency because of the Palisades fire. “The city is working aggressively to confront this emergency,” she said.
The National Weather Service issued a warning on Monday for a “life-threatening, destructive, and widespread windstorm” in California, lasting through Wednesday.
“Widespread damaging winds are expected across most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Areas not typically windy will be impacted,” it said.
