A fast-moving series of fires beginning Jan. 7 has devastated areas of Southern California, causing thousands of residents to have to flee their homes — including many stars
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A series of wildfires has devastated swaths of Southern California, causing thousands of residents to have to flee their homes as it rapidly engulfs large parts of the Los Angeles area.
Among the more than 80,000 people displaced were celebrities, many of whom have called the area home for decades. Some, including Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, Cameron Mathison, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, have lost their houses. Many others, including Mario Lopez, Molly Sims, Kid Cudi and Bebe Rexha, have shared that they have evacuated as the fire continues to spread.
The first fire started in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Videos show devastation in the seaside community; as Pacific Palisades resident Maria Shriver wrote on Instagram, “Heartbreaking, devastating, beyond belief. Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants. All our friends have lost everything.”
The Eaton Fire (also called the Close Fire) followed, sparking around 6:30 pm Tuesday; by late Wednesday morning, it had exploded to 10,000 acres across Pasadena and Altadena. By 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the Woodley Fire was ablaze, seizing 75 acres in its wake.
Northward of that, the Hurst Fire, which grew to about 500 acres in size, sparked around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday and was still going around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. A fifth blaze, the Tyler Fire, sparked west of L.A. near Coachella and was 50 percent contained at the time of this writing.
On Thursday, a new fire, the Kenneth Fire, was being investigated as arson and was growing rapidly.
Many entertainment events and filmings were postponed as a result of the catastrophe, which as of Wednesday evening had claimed lives (officials say the current death toll is unknown) and was already being called the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles County, with more than 1,100 structures destroyed and 27,000 acres impacted so far, according to the Los Angeles Times.
See what stars have said about their personal connection to the horrifying disaster.