With more than 5,000 structures destroyed in the Palisades Fire, Dennis Quaid expressed concerns for his home and community.
When the Golden Globe nominee evacuated his home in Pacific Palisades on Friday evening, he spoke about his family’s experience since the fires broke out this week, noting that they’ve been “lucky” so far.
“Tuesday, we woke up to a big plume of smoke. This has been a really exciting day here in Palisades, it’s been rising.” KNBC. “And Wednesday, I got within 150 yards of the house and these guys got down in their planes and put this inhibitor up there. And these helicopter pilots, what they’re doing is unbelievable. And I can’t say enough about the firefighters and first responders in this city. We have some good people, good people.” here”.
“And we are fighting as hard as we can to save our city,” Quaid added. Oh my God, I never thought I’d say that. But that’s what happens.”
the material The actor said his home was “on the edge of the first evacuation zone” from the Palisades Fire. “So we got lucky. I have a lot of friends who lost — my agent, he lost both his houses, and another good friend in Palisades, he just moved into one house and was renting the other one. He lost both,” he said.
A wildfire view as firefighting planes and helicopters drop water over flames in Mandeville Canyon during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“What are you doing, just rebuilding?” Quaid asked. “You start thinking about how long it takes to put the house together and then you can’t keep it in your mind.”
Fires broke out in Pacific Palisades, Eaton Canyon, Malibu, the Hollywood Hills and other areas around Los Angeles County amid a “life-threatening and devastating” wind storm that began Tuesday.
As of Saturday, at least 11 people had died in the Southern California wildfires, which have forced nearly 105,000 people to evacuate the Palisades area and destroyed at least 5,316 structures, including 426 homes. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department received 13 missing persons reports.
President Joe Biden, who extended his trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday to visit first responders and those affected, declared the fires a major disaster.
“More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate communities affected by wildfires in Southern California,” Biden wrote on X. “At least two people were killed. Many more were injured – including firefighters. It’s devastating. To the people of Southern California: we are with you.”
