As Epic Fire Rages, Hollywood Reels in Shock
As firefighters fought fruitlessly on Wednesday to contain the spread of a raging inferno that devastated the Pacific Palisades, the toll on the entertainment industry deepened.
By the afternoon, the Santa Ana wind-fueled fire had claimed the homes of more than half a dozen A-listers in the community perched above the Pacific ocean: Billy Crystal, Anna Faris, John Goodman, Anthony Hopkins, Eugene Levy and Miles Teller all lost homes there, according to social media posts and reporting by Page Six.
The Palisades home of Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, who walked the Golden Globes carpet together on Sunday, also burned down.
And reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt shared pictures on social media of their destroyed home in the Palisades. In a post on Instagram, Pratt said the “one positive sign” of the loss was that his son’s bed “burned in the shape of a heart.”
The fate of other famous homes – including Steven Spielberg’s mansion in the exclusive “rim” part of Amalfi Drive that overlooks the Pacific — was less clear late Wednesday, as firefighters fought to contain a blaze that had spread to more than 15,800 acres by 6 p.m. with zero containment. A spokesperson for Spielberg said he was on the east coast.
And many, many others in the industry — less famous, perhaps, but just as crucial to the turning of Hollywood’s wheels, whether agents, public relations executives, lawyers, writers, marketers or producers — learned the devastating news that their homes were gone.
Said one despairing executive whose home was lost: “I don’t know how I’m going to get through it. ”
Jamie Lee Curtis, who lives in the Palisades, got emotional in an appearance Wednesday on Jimmy Fallon, conveying the shock of the entertainment community:
“It’s just a catastrophe in southern California,” she said. “Obviously there have been horrific fires in many places. But this is literally where I live. The market I shop in. The school I go to. Many, many many friends now have lost their homes. It’s a really awful situation.”
Fires raged in other parts of Los Angeles on Wednesday, including around Altadena and Pasadena, and a fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills that night, with a mandatory evacuation notice issued there. It remained to be seen how fierce those fires would be. The Eaton fire led to five horrific deaths.
But the devastation in picture-perfect Palisades was unimaginable, surreal, more resembling a war zone like Baghdad in 2003 than the most exclusive and picturesque community on the west side of Los Angeles.
And for the entertainment industry, it could be crippling. While many might associate the rich and famous with Beverly Hills or the Hollywood Hills, no community in recent decades has attracted more industry power brokers than the Palisades. The area, tucked between Santa Monica and Brentwood, is home to less than 30,000 residents, where the median home was listed for $4.5 million in 2024, according to realtor.com.
The chaos that engulfed the Palisades led to myriad cancellations and postponements of award-season events and productions. The Academy extended Oscar nomination voting and moved its nominations announcement from Jan. 17 to Jan. 19. The Critics Choice Awards postponed its show from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26.
Pamela Anderson’s “The Last Showgirl” premiere was canceled Wednesday morning. Max canceled the premiere of its new medical drama, “The Pitt,” starring Noah Wyle; Amazon canceled its “Unstoppable” premiere with Jennifer Lopez and BAFTA shelved the 2025 Tea Party. The list continued to grow late Wednesday.
The list of producers, directors, agents, showrunners, lawyers, creative execs and A-list actors with homes in the Palisades reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood past and present. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige lives there, as do Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, director Ron Howard and his family, producer Brian Grazer and his wife Veronica Smiley.
Spielberg’s estate, which he bought in 1985 from singer-songwriter Bobby Vinton, was once occupied by producer David O. Selznick, who lived there when he made “Gone With the Wind.” The property could be worth $100 million today, Steve Lewis, the CEO of Core Real Estate Group in Beverly Hills, told TheWrap. “What he has is priceless,” Lewis said. “You could never replace it.”
In the outdoor Village mall in the Palisades created by developer Rick Caruso, upscale is normal. Residents happily pay absurd prices for a simple floor mat and other home decor at a place like Kier Design or Serena & Lily. They’re used to paying $16 for a pressed juice at the popular Erehwon Market. Oscar attendees dropped thousands of dollars on suits and dresses at designer Elyse Walker’s shop.
Walker’s shop was in ashes on Wednesday.
As the evacuations continued, all the schools in the Palisades area remained closed. At the exclusive Brentwood School, 18 families with students there had homes that burned, according to a knowledgeable individual.
Was this the big one?
Amid the flames and the pause in Hollywood’s machinery, shock along with a kind of gallows humor seeped through the town. Savage wildfires have ravaged nearby Ventura, Malibu and Santa Paula in the past few years, and many in the industry had been bracing for a catastrophic event to strike at the heart of the entertainment community. Pacific Palisades was that beating heart.
The speed and ferocity brought a shock wave to everyone, as people shared information about lost houses, close calls and the inability to contain the fires. Just last week the industry had returned from the holidays — some were still on vacation in Mexico and Europe on Tuesday — and was enjoying sunny winter L.A. weather as it prepared to attack the new year. The chosen few attended the Golden Globes on Sunday. Then on Tuesday at around 10:30 a.m., the fire broke out in the Palisades Highlands portion of the community. Just 90 minutes later, it had exploded from 20 acres to more than 200.
In the ensuing hours, with firefighting helicopters and planes stymied by the strong winds, the blaze tore through more than a mile of homes and hillsides along the Pacific — with firefighters able to do nothing to contain it.
And early Wednesday, as the once bustling Palisades Village stood abandoned, the recriminations began. Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong questioned Mayor Karen Bass’ recent $17.6 million cut to the L.A. Fire Department’s budget. That, along with reports of empty fire hydrants, raised “serious questions” about her leadership, Soon-Shiong said on X.
“Competence matters,” he wrote.
But for now, in the midst of an ongoing crisis, there is only sadness.
“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” Billy and Janice Crystal said in a statement about the loss of their home, which they had lived in since 1979. “We ache for our friends and neighbors who have also lost their homes and businesses in this tragedy. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love.
“The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.”
Additional reporting by Sharon Waxman
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