A-list actors, musicians and other celebrities were among the tens of thousands of people affected by terrifying wildfires in Los Angeles Wednesday, as the entertainment industry screeched to a halt amid the chaos.
The showbiz capital has been besieged by multiple out-of-control blazes, with Hollywood events including a glitzy awards show and a Pamela Anderson film premiere among those cancelled as firefighters battle flames in hurricane-force winds.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the swanky Pacific Palisades area, a favourite spot for celebrities where multimillion-dollar houses nestle on beautiful hillsides, while other infernos sprang up across the north of the city.
Star Wars star Mark Hamill told followers on Instagram that he had fled his Malibu home with his wife and pet dog, escaping down a road flanked by active fires.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis was also forced to evacuate, later writing on Instagram: "Our beloved neighbourhood is gone. Our home is safe. So many others have lost everything."
Meanwhile, next week's unveiling of the Oscar nominations was pushed back until Jan 19, to give Academy members affected by fires more time to cast their ballots this week.
Steve Guttenberg - star of 1984 comedy Police Academy - was among those helping get people out of Pacific Palisades as the fire began spreading on Tuesday.
The Cocoon actor expressed frustration at how some of those fleeing the blaze had abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the ritzy neighbourhood.
"If you leave your car ... leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there," he told a live television broadcast.
Reality TV personalities Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt from The Hills, an MTV show that ran until 2010, said they had lost their house after evacuating.
"I'm watching our house burn down on the security cameras," Pratt wrote on Snapchat. – AFP
