Actor Steve Guttenberg was spotted helping clear a path for Los Angelenos to evacuate from the celebrity haven of Pacific Palisades as a dangerous wildfire, exacerbated by windstorms, forced at least 30,000 people in the area to evacuate.
The fast-burning wildfire in Los Angeles broke out on Tuesday morning, as the region faced a “life-threatening” windstorm caused by the notorious Santa Ana winds. The blaze has burned at least 1,262 acres, according to the most recent update from CalFire.
As the fire advanced quickly, panicking drivers abandoned their cars on Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive, the Los Angeles Times reported—leading to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams as more people attempted to evacuate.
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But Guttenberg jumped into action, helping firefighters move cars abandoned on Palisades Drive. He was seen helping at the ongoing blaze by reporters for KTLA, who did not immediately recognize the Police Academy star.
“I live right up the hill,” Guttenberg said, pointing towards the mountainside where flames were visible from the street. “I have friends up there right now, and they can’t evacuate because it’s stuck on Palisades Drive.”
“There are families up there, there are pets up there, there are people who really need help,” Gutenberg told the local station.
“It’s really important for people to help each other,” Guttenberg said. “It’s really important for everybody to band together, and don’t worry about your personal property—just get out.”
Representatives for Guttenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it is unclear if the actor has since evacuated from the area.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Chief Kristin Crowley said at least 30,000 people in the area have already evacuated. There have been no reports of casualties so far, but at least 13,000 structures have already been destroyed.
Officials also warned that the worst wind gusts would likely take place between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday.
“This will likely be the most destructive windstorm seen since [the] 2011 windstorm that did extensive damage to Pasadena and nearby foothills of the San Gabriel Valley,” the NWS said, noting that gusts could reach up to 100 miles per hour in parts of the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys.
The fire broke out in Pacific Palisades, the tony Los Angeles neighborhood northwest of Santa Monica that is home to dozens of other celebrities, such as Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, and Adam Sandler, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Actor James Woods documented the blaze in several posts on X, sharing terrifying photos taken from his security cameras. “We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out,” he wrote.
Eugene Levy, the American Pie actor who was named honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades in 2021, told the Los Angeles Times that he evacuated early on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark,” he told the paper.
Elsewhere in Los Angeles County, at least two major movie premieres were canceled as the fire continues to threaten the region. Amazon MGM canceled Tuesday’s premiere of Unstoppable, a wrestling drama starring Jennifer Lopez.
“As much as we were looking forward to celebrating this wonderful and inspiring film with you, safety is our first priority,” the studio said in a statement sent to the Daily Beast. Amazon MGM did not say if the premiere would be rescheduled but encouraged viewers to watch it on Amazon Prime on Jan. 16.
Universal’s premiere of Wolf Man at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater was also cancelled amid the wildfire threat, multiple Hollywood trade publications reported. The studio did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
