Cher and Dick Van Dyke pressured to evacuate as Franklin wildfire rips by way of Malibu mansions
Hollywood icons, Cher and Dick Van Dyke, among many other A-listers, were forced to flee for safety in the face of a devastating wildfire engulfing Malibu, California.
The menacing wind-driven wildfires have forced a near 20,000 residents from their coastal homes as much of the city is under an evacuation order as of Wednesday morning.
The rampaging fires erupted late Monday evening and have since grown to spread a monstrous 6 square miles, yet only a mere 7 percent has been contained.
More than 15,000 firefighters have been tasked with battling the fierce blaze as many working tirelessly in steep canyons, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
‘The deep and rugged terrain, along with the strong winds and low humidity, continue to pose challenges for firefighters,’ the agency said in an incident update Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service has offered a slight tone of relief as the agency announced that the strongest bout of the storm, with wind surges up to 40 miles per hour, have passed, yet critical fire conditions remain.
Much of the devastation, so far, has occurred in Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles known for its stunning bluffs featured in many Hollywood films.
Flames burned ferociously near celebrities’ seaside mansions, horse farms and nearby Pepperdine University, where about 3,000 students were also forced to shelter in place on campus.
The menacing wind-driven wildfires have forced a near 20,000 residents from their coastal homes as much of the city is under evacuation orders as of Wednesday morning
More than 15,000 firefighters have been tasked with battling the fierce blaze as many working tirelessly in steep canyons, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
A-lister, Dick Van Dyke, who is just three days shy of his 99th birthday, revealed in a Facebook post on Tuesday, that him and his wife, Arlene Silver, had narrowly escaped to their home ahead of the flames.
But, the legendary entertainer announced that his family had suffered a devastating loss amid the tumult when one of their cats escaped in the rush to evacuate.
The tiny coastal community is home to numerous celebrities looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles in favor of the sun and surf, but the lack of fire-resistant development puts them at greater risk of wildfires.
The Mary Poppins star wasn’t the only actor in harm’s way as the blaze, now named the Franklin Fire, forced other stars including Cher, 78, to flee.
Other stars live in the mandatory evacuation zones but haven’t yet clarified if they have fled, including Barbra Streisand and Jonah Hill.
Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver were forced to flee for safety in the face of a devastating wildfire engulfing Malibu, California, but he revealed a devastating loss on Facebook
The actor, who’s three days shy of his 99th birthday, revealed that their cat Bobo had escaped while they were evacuating. ‘We’re praying he’ll be ok…’ he wrote while posting a photo of the cat
On Facebook, Van Dyke shared a photo of his cat Bobo.
The sweet picture showed Bobo, an orange tabby, draped in what looked like a purple blanket, but the photo took on a somber tone when paired with the actor’s caption.
‘Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving,’ he wrote. ‘We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.’
The cat’s chances will depend on the scope of the fires, which have exploded due to heavy Santa Ana winds in Southern California.
However, several house pets, including cats, have been documented surviving wildfires in recent years.
Photos taken Tuesday appear to show good news for Van Dyke — and possibly even Bobo.
The Dick Van Dyke Show star’s home appeared to have been unharmed by the blaze, even as neighboring properties were devoured by it.
Cher, who also lives in the area, evacuated in the face of the fast-moving fire.
Photos taken Tuesday of Van Dyke’s Malibu property show that it appeared to have survived the blaze, even as neighboring properties were destroyed
Van Dyke also expressed hope that his ‘community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires’; pictured with Carol Burnett in June in Hollywood
Fire personnel spray water as the Franklin Fire Tuesday morning, as other parts of the blaze rapidly grew by the minute
Cher, who also lives in the area, evacuated in the face of the fast-moving fire. Her publicist Liz Rosenberg told the New York Times that Cher had moved to a hotel with her pets on Monday night
Her publicist Liz Rosenberg told the New York Times that Cher had moved to a hotel with her pets on Monday night.
A representative for Streisand wasn’t able to provide details on her whereabouts and said he was still waiting to hear where she was.
Other stars who live in the area but haven’t clarified if they have evacuated include Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
They attended the premiere of the Lion King computer-animated prequel Mufasa on Monday with daughter Blue Ivy and Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles.
The surprising red-carpet appearances came just a day after Jay-Z was accused in a lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in the company of disgraced rap mogul Diddy at a party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
Jay-Z vehemently denied the accusation in a statement he shared after the news broke.
Jonah Hill also owns a home in the exclusive Malibu Colony, which is in the area of mandatory evacuation, as does Julia Roberts, who has a home in Malibu’s Point Dume neighborhood.
Lady Gaga has a Zuma Beach mansion that is located in the mandatory evacuation area.
Among the stars living in Malibu are Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who attended the premiere of the Lion King computer-animated prequel Mufasa on Monday with daughter Blue Ivy and Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles
Other big names, including Nicolas Cage and Karlie Kloss also call the beachside area home, and other stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Aniston have lived in the popular area over the years.
The wildfire didn’t just put individuals at risk, but also threatened key cultural centers in the area, including the Getty Villa.
Jonah Hill also owns a home in the exclusive Malibu Colony, which is in the area of mandatory evacuation
Julia Roberts, who has a home in Malibu’s Point Dume neighborhood, was also apparently in the evacuation zone; pictured in 2022 in LA
Lady Gaga has a Zuma Beach mansion that is located in the mandatory evacuation area; pictured November 4 in Philadelphia, Penn.
Evacuations are underway in celebrity-filled Malibu following the rapid spread of a wildfire that broke out overnight
The museum, a component of the Getty Museum, is designed in the image of an ancient Roman villa and features antiquities from Greece and Rome.
The fast-moving blaze first started at around 11 p.m. PST on Monday night, initially with a footprint of around 100 acres. By 7 a.m., it had expanded to 2,200 acres. As of 12 p.m., it was more than 2,600.
As of Tuesday morning, zero percent of the Franklin Fire had been contained, as it continued to tear through the eastern part of Malibu, which is under a mandatory evacuation order.
As of Tuesday morning, the evacuation order has gone out to more than 6,000 residents.
Residents of neighborhoods like Sweetwater Canyon and Serra Retreat were among those forced to flee their luxury abodes. Footage from the fire-ravaged area filmed early Tuesday morning showed firefighters battling the flames.
A motorist passes as a mountainside burns as the Franklin Fire grows in Malibu, still yet to be contained in the slightest after more than half-a-day
‘Flames are everywhere. People are running away in vehicles from Malibu both directions on the coastal highway,’ one local told the Los Angeles Times, after the fire had spread across more than 1,800 acres by dawn.
‘Malibu Pier and other structures are impacted. Structures are impacted on Malibu Knolls Rd and Sweetwater Cyn,’ the city added in an emergency update around that time, as students and staff at Pepperdine University were ordered to take shelter.
‘The fire is burning so hot that it is modifying the local winds… [and] bending them towards and into the fire,’ the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned later in the morning, as the fire burned through an area larger than five football fields.
Chilling footage shared on X, meanwhile, from frightened Pepperdine students showed flickering flames of the fire mere yards from the campus library, as concerned students, who started their first day of finals on Monday, rushed down stairs to escape.
