Celebrity refugees fleeing LA wildfires: How Hollywood elite from Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and Jamie Lee Curtis are holed up in $1,000-a-night hotels
Hollywood’s elite are fleeing their homes as bushfires continue to rage in Los Angeles, with celebrities racing to find shelter in hotels costing thousands of pounds a night.
Jamie Lee Curtis as well as power couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are among dozens of stars forced elsewhere as the Palisade Fire’s trail of devastation continues and the death toll from the disaster rises to 16 today.
Actors Dennis Quaid and Sarah Michelle Gellar were among those seen arriving at the Hotel Bel-Air, which was built in 1922 and charges up to $15,000 a night for a room.
Rock drummer Tommy Lee, 62, and his wife Brittany Furlan, 38, were also pictured as the Palisade Fire still burns across Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the $1,000-a-night Beverly Hills Hotel, which opened in 1912 and is known as the “Pink Palace,” has also proven popular — not just for the stars but also for their pet dogs.
Oscar winner Lee Curtis was among those seen walking the grounds with a pet, while dog bags and baskets joined the luggage at hotel receptions.
Meanwhile, model Teigen shared on Instagram photos of herself and her pop star husband Legend sheltering in a hotel room, although the location was not named.
Teigen, 39, who vacated his $17.5 million Beverly Hills home with the couple’s four children and pets, shared clips on Instagram showing his bearded dragon Sebastian and told fans they didn’t leave him in the house.
Model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen shared with her fans on Instagram how she and her family had to run away from their home and stay in a hotel – taking her bearded dragon alone.
She posted snaps from the unnamed hotel including her husband, pop star John Legend
Many Hollywood stars have been forced to seek refuge elsewhere as wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles, including Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis (pictured)
The downtown Los Angeles skyline is seen far left in the distance as firefighters monitor the Palisades Fire near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California on January 11
Earlier in the day, she said she was packing to leave the house, saying: “This is surreal. I’m so scared right now. Packing.
Lee Curtis has holed up in her Beverly Hills Hotel, after pledging $1 million (£811,000) to help those affected by the fires – although her own property in Pacific Palisades is believed to be intact.
Other new residents at the same hotel include Hollywood executive Eric Feig, former co-chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group behind hit films like La La Land, The Hurt Locker and The Hunger Games.
He spoke of the fears sweeping the afflicted state, as firefighters continue to fight forest fires that have claimed the lives of at least 16 people and destroyed vast areas of land and homes.
Mr Vij’s home is also said to be safe although he and his family have yet to flee, with risks continuing to rise in his neighbourhood.
He fled with his wife, Susanna, and his two children, Eli (20 years old) and Alex (15 years old), along with their three dogs, and seized their passports, birth certificates, a photo bag, and dog food before fleeing by car.
And he said to telegraph He said he knew 57 families who lost their homes, adding:It’s kind of a horrible feeling – it’s a beautiful neighborhood.
“I’ve lived there for about 11 years, and as soon as I climb to the top of the hill and see the view of the hills, honestly, even after 11 years, there’s a little pause in my heart. I say to myself: ‘Wow, I can’t believe I live here – this is so beautiful.’
Mr Figg added: “It’s a real pinch moment…and so you see this now, it’s devastation, I mean just clouds of smoke everywhere.”
Dozens of famous names have been forced to evacuate, with orders issued covering much of the city, while current residents elsewhere watch in horror.
Among the stars facing the potential destruction of their homes are actors Steve Guttenberg, Billy Crystal, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Anna Faris and Mel Gibson.
Quaid, 70, took refuge in the Bel-Air Hotel after the fires reached within 100 yards of his property in the badly damaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
He was joined by his wife Laura Savoy, 34, and their pet dog Peaches.
Quaid said: “I’ve been through a lot of fires here ca In the 45 years I’ve lived here and around, this is the worst ever. He suddenly appeared.
He told NBC he considered himself “lucky” because “a lot of friends” had it worse, saying: “My agent, he lost both his houses, and another good friend of mine in Palisades, he just moved into a house and he rented the other one and he lost both of them.”
“We’re fighting as hard as we can to save our city — oh my God, I never thought I’d say that.”
Dennis Quaid became emotional Saturday when he announced he had been evacuated from his Brentwood home amid the catastrophic Los Angeles fires.
Also seen in Bel-Air were Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Gellar, 47, and actor husband Freddie Prinze Jr., 48, after they feared their Colonial-style home in the Mandeville Canyon area was under threat.
She was among the vocal critics of how local authorities responded to the disaster, writing on social media: “The city of Los Angeles, you want to evacuate everyone but you have a complete gridlock and not a single traffic cop on the roads to help.”
Another online post was actor and producer Rob McElhenney, who co-owns League One football club Wrexham with Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds.
He wrote online: ‘Our family is safe. So many houses, entire neighborhoods are just . . . gold.’
Reports indicated that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were spotted at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, while newly honored Golden Globe winner Demi Moore was said to be staying with her daughters Rumer and Scout Willis and nine dogs at the L’Hermitage, a hotel $900 (£737) a night at a hotel in Beverly Hills.
Most of the damaged celebrity homes appear to be located on the east side of Pacific Palisades, including the estates of Eugene Levy, Billy Crystal and Anna Faris.
On the west side of the Palisades, the family home of Leighton Meester and her husband, Adam Brody, burned to ash as well as the home of basketball player Kawhi Leonard.
Meanwhile, Steve Guttenberg’s home in The Summit area of the Palisades was also surrounded by a raging wildfire, but miraculously survived.
Paris Hilton, 43, said she watched her Malibu waterfront home burn to the ground on live TV in an emotional social media post last Wednesday.
“Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our house in Malibu burn on live TV is something no one should ever experience,” the socialite said on X/Twitter, accompanied by a clip from KABC depicting it. damage.
Hilton bundled her five young Pomeranians into the back of her car as she fled her Malibu mansion in the middle of the night.
She shared a clip of her animals huddled together in the back seat as she described running around her house to find each of her pets.
“Okay, we found everyone, we’re packing the car and getting ready to go to the hotel,” she said.
“Hotels are packed all the way to Newport Beach and even to San Diego, you can’t get a hotel room now,” Jason Oppenheim, star of US reality show Selling Sunset, told BBC1’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg today.
He accused private property owners of exploiting the displaced and increasing rental fees.
“It’s all ready now, but it’s really difficult because there are thousands of displaced people without places to stay,” he said.
Paris Hilton’s Malibu Beach home is among the homes reduced to rubble by the Los Angeles fires
The socialite told on Instagram how she watched her belongings burn to the ground
“And even, unfortunately, and this is something I want to discuss, because I think it should be exposed, but we have landlords taking advantage of the situation.
“I had a client – who we sent to a house who was asking $13,000 (£10,600) a month – who offered him $20,000 (£16,400) a month and offered to pay six months in advance.”
“And the owner said, ‘No, I want $23,000 ($18,800) a month.’” You know, there are price gouging laws in California that are being ignored now.
“This is not the time to take advantage of situations, nor is it illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster.”
