The famous Los Angeles area devastated by wildfires

Strangers often wander into Los Angeles' upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' homes.

Now, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire sweeping through the region.

Across the city, more than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes due to winds that sparked three fires. A state of emergency was declared, closing roads as people fled.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who starred in films such as Nixon and Casino, described the evacuation of his home on social media and said he was unsure if it was still standing.

“It feels like losing a loved one,” he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is famously exclusive, with a home costing $4.5 million (£3.6 million) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

North Los Angeles is bordered to the south by a three-mile (4.8 km) stretch of beach on the Pacific Ocean, located between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub of trendy shops, cafes and a farmers market.

But the Palisades Fire — which grew from 10 acres to more than 2,900 acres in a matter of hours — shattered the area's idyllic nature.

Star Wars star Mark Hamill described the fire as “the most horrific fire since 1993” – burning 18,000 acres and destroying 323 homes in nearby Malibu – in an Instagram post.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu “and so there were small fires on both sides of the road at the last minute.”

Levy, who is best known for his role in the American Pie film series, told local media that he had to evacuate his home.

“The smoke looked very black and intense over the Temescal Valley. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark,” he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.

Reality TV stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

“I feel very sad for my brother Heidi and the children,” she said. “Even the fire station in Palisades burned down.”

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Kelly also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Ms Tiller shared a photo of the fires and a sad emoji. She urged people to leave water bowls for animals while evacuating their homes.

Meanwhile, Police Academy actor Steve Guttenberg stayed behind to help the firefighters by moving cars to make room for oncoming fire engines.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be removed from the path of firefighters.

“We really need people to move their cars, this is not a parking lot,” he told news outlet KTLA.

Not only are famous residents affected by the bushfires, iconic buildings in the area are also under threat.

Palisades Charter High School – which has served as a film set and has many notable people as former students – Local media reported that it was damaged by fire.

The ill-fated school has been used in films including the 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Past students include director JJ Abrams, musician William I.A.M., and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum located in the Palisades District that houses a large collection of artworks and artifacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it was closed to the public and that some trees and plants at the site had burned, but said that “no buildings have caught fire, and staff and the collection remain safe.”

Star-studded events scheduled to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

The premieres for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been cancelled, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.