Fire from Hell: Inside Pacific Palisades, where wildfires have destroyed million-dollar Hollywood mansions

The Pacific Palisades, tucked between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, in America’s Los Angeles has been known for its scenic views and being home to many of Hollywood’s A-listers.

However, today, this restful, affluent neighbourhood has been reduced to ash as apocalyptic wildfires tear through the area, destroying everything in its path and even claiming the lives of six people. Roughly 1,37,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as the fast-moving fires engulf thousands of acres in the city, sparing no one and nobody.

Several Hollywood celebrities, such as Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton, have lost their homes, while many others such as Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy have evacuated their properties.

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Fires halt Hollywood

Skies over Los Angeles have turned a dystopian orange since Tuesday (January 7) when powerful Santa Ana winds whipped up several wildfires across LA, killing seven and setting homes ablaze. California’s governor Gavin Newsom has called the situation “unprecedented” as he ordered 1,400 firefighters to help quell the blazes.

Tinseltown is also feeling the brunt of the fiery conditions — premieres were cancelled, a pre-Oscar event was called off and palatial homes belonging to celebrities have been reduced to dust.

Paris Hilton, perhaps one of the world’s most famous socialites, said she had lost her home in Malibu. She wrote in an Instagram post: “Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burned to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.

“This home is where we built so many precious memories… My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by this fire.”

Actor Billy Crystal, still remembered for his role in Harry met Sally, said that he and his wife, Janice, were “heartbroken” by the loss of their Pacific Palisades home where they had lived in since 1979. Visuals show that nothing remains of his palatial home beyond the tennis courts.

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Hollywood superstar Anthony Hopkins’ house is also gone. There is nothing left of the actor’s property. The gates which protected the property are still standing, but have been pushed wide open. Trees that once offered privacy are charred to a crisp.

Eugene Levy, who starred in the hit comedy show Schitt’s Creek, has also lost his house. He had earlier discussed trying to flee and being trapped in the gridlocked traffic along with thousands of other residents who were following evacuation orders. “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon,” he said. “I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”

The fires have even claimed the $7 million mansion belonging to actors Adam Brody and wife Leighton Meester.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who has also evacuated his house, called the fire the “most horrific” since 1993, when 18,000 acres burned, destroying 323 homes in Malibu. He said he had evacuated his Malibu house “so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road”.

Mandy Moore, singer and actress in TV drama This Is Us, also had to flee her house and updated fans with her status on Tuesday.

Other stars who have homes in the area include Adam Sandler, Ben Affleck, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Many are awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames.

“Evacuated safe with kids, dogs and cats. Praying and grateful for first responders,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.

And it’s not just celebrities’ homes that have been destroyed in the blaze. The wildfire has also claimed several iconic locations important to Hollywood history. For instance, the Palisades Charter High School, used in the 1976 horror classic Carrie as well as Freaky Friday, has been devastated. Theatre Palisades, a community theatre founded in 1963 by a trio of television writers, sustained “serious damage,” according to its website, and was forced to suspend all operations until further notice.

The Getty Villa, home to Greek and Roman art and antiquities in a recreated Roman country home, is also under threat from the blaze.

Meanwhile, a new blaze broke out on Wednesday night, the Sunset fire, in the Hollywood Hills, near where the world-famous Hollywood sign nestles in the hillside.

Inside Pacific Palisades

Before the blaze, Pacific Palisades had been home to some of LA’s wealthiest residents, as it offers them a quiet, secluded atmosphere.

Resting between state parks and the ocean, Pacific Palisades offers both the land and the sea — one can go on long, beautiful hikes or be by the beach. The typical value of a house in Pacific Palisades is $3.4 million. Sixteen homes on the market are priced at $10 million or more in Pacific Palisades, as per listings on Zillow.

But before all this, the Pacific Palisades was colonised by the Spanish in the mid-1800s and marketed by wealthy developers as a resort town in the 1880s.

Pacific Palisades’ modern era began in 1922 when Reverend Charles Scott, a Methodist minister, bought 1,068 acres on both sides of Temescal Canyon as a permanent home for a local Chautauqua — a seasonal camp that was popular with Protestant families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Soon, wealthy people, including movie star Will Rogers moved to this area and began building more luxurious homes. In the 1940s, the Pacific Palisades became a magnet for European intellectuals forced to flee the Nazis. The Palisades grew in reputation and price over the decades, drawing famous residents like Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Mark Hamill, Billy Crystal, Brooke Shields and Adam Sandler.

Fire hydrants run dry

This week’s wildfires in the Pacific Palisades are an anomaly. According to research firm First Street, wildfires haven’t been recorded in the area in recent times, but 96 per cent of the properties face risk over the next 30 years.

The blaze tearing through Pacific Palisades has also led to fire hydrants running dry of water. Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the fight to contain the flames has put immense strain on the system. “We pushed the system to the extreme,” she said during a Wednesday news conference. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight.”

With inputs from agencies