James Woods shared harrowing video on Tuesday afternoon of a house close to his going up in flames in the Palisades Fire with the caption, “Two houses from us.” You can hear the flames crackling in the 7-second clip.
The “Hercules” actor thanked the LA fire and police departments for helping him and his family safely flee the area, which is under a mandatory evacuation order. As of this writing, the Palisades Fire has spread to more than 1260 acres, driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, forcing thousands to evacuate.
In another video, he narrates, “I’m standing in my driveway, waiting to evacuate.” He pans the camera to houses on a hill above, noting that there are “planes going over dropping water….” before ending the clip with a dispirited, “S–t.”
“We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely. Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD,” he wrote in the caption to his evacuation video.
In an additional video, which appears to have been shot by a firefighter, shows flames licking the edge of Woods’ deck. The person narrating says, “You’re looking good. Your house is not on fire.” He then chuckles as the flames grow higher. “I’m here in case some embers land on it. I hope your windows are closed.”
Other actors who live in the area include “Police Academy” star Steve Guttenberg, who described the situation of abandoned cars blocking traffic earlier in the day to KTLA.
Writer/producer Kelsey Trainor reshared a video that showed several abandoned cars in the road, saying, “Our car is in this vid. There was nowhere [to go] today. People behind us were in the middle of the fire.”
