The celebrity refugees fleeing LA wildfires: How Hollywood elite from Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and Jamie Lee Curtis are holed up at $1,000-a-night hotels
Hollywood’s elite are fleeing their homes as the Los Angeles bushfires rage, with celebrities rushing to take refuge in hotels costing thousands of pounds a night.
Jamie Lee Curtis and power couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are among dozens of stars forced elsewhere as the trail of destruction from the Palisade Fire continues and the disaster’s death toll rose to 16 today.
And actors Dennis Quaid and Sarah Michelle Gellar are among those seen arriving at the Hotel Bel-Air, built in 1922 and which charges up to $15,000 a night for a room.
Also pictured as the Palisade Fire continues to rage through LA was Mötley Crüe rock drummer Tommy Lee, 62, and his 38-year-old wife Brittany Furlan.
Meanwhile, the $1,000-a-night Beverly Hills Hotel, opened in 1912 and known as ‘The Pink Palace’, is also proving popular – not just for stars but for their dogs too.
Oscar-winning Lee Curtis is among those who have been seen walking around the grounds with a pet, while dog bags and baskets have joined the luggage at hotel receptions.
Meanwhile, model Teigen took to Instagram to share photos of her and pop star husband Legend sheltering in a hotel room, although the location was not mentioned.
Teigen, 39, who left their $17.5 million Beverly Hills home with the couple’s four children and pets, shared clips on Instagram with bearded dragon Sebastian and told fans they didn’t leave him at home.
Model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen shared with fans on Instagram how she and her family had to flee their home and stay in a hotel, taking only her pet bearded dragon with them
She posted images from the unnamed hotel, including her pop star husband John Legend
Many Hollywood stars have been forced to seek refuge elsewhere as the Los Angeles wildfires continue to rage, including Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis (pictured)
The downtown Los Angeles skyline is seen in the far left 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 and said: “This is surreal. I’m very scared now. Packaging.’
Lee Curtis has holed up in the Beverly Hills Hotel and pledged $1 million (£811,000) to help those affected by the fires, although her own Pacific Palisades property is believed to be intact.
Another new resident of the same hotel is Hollywood executive Eric Feig, former co-president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group behind hit films such as La La Land, The Hurt Locker and the Hunger Games franchise.
He spoke of the fears sweeping the stricken state as firefighters continue to battle the wildfires that have killed at least 16 people and destroyed vast swathes of land and homes.
Mr. Feig’s home was also said to be safe, although he and his family still had to flee as dangers remained high in his neighborhood.
He fled with his wife Susanna and children Ellie, 20, and 15-year-old Alex, along with their three dogs. He seized their passports, birth certificates, a bag of photos and dog food before fleeing in the car.
He told the Telegraph he knew 57 families who had lost their homes, adding: ‘It feels a bit apocalyptic: it’s such a beautiful neighborhood.
“I lived there for about eleven years and as soon as I climb the hill and see that view of the hills, honestly, even after eleven years, there is a little stop in my heart. I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I live here, this is so beautiful.’
Mr. Feig added, “It’s really a pinch-me moment … and you see this now, and it’s destruction, I mean, just clouds of smoke everywhere.”
Dozens of household names have been forced to evacuate, with orders in place for most of the city, while those currently living elsewhere watched in horror.
Among the stars facing the possible destruction of their homes are actors Steve Guttenberg, Billy Crystal, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Anna Faris and Mel Gibson.
Quaid, 70, sought refuge at the Hotel Bel-Air after the fires came within 300 feet of his property in the heavily destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
He was joined there by his wife Laura Savoie, 34, and their dog Peaches.
Quaid said: ‘I have experienced several fires here California in the 45 years I’ve lived here and around here, and this is the second worst. It was so sudden.’
He told NBC that he considered himself “lucky” because “so many friends” had suffered worse.
He said, “My agent, he lost both his houses, and another good friend in the Palisades, he just moved into one house and he rented the other one and he lost them both.
Dennis Quaid became emotional Saturday as he said he had been evacuated from his Brentwood home amid the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles
“We are fighting as hard as we can to save our city. God, I never thought I’d say that.’
Also seen at the 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 district was under threat.
And she has been one of the outspoken critics of the way local authorities have responded to the disaster, writing on social media: “In the city of LA you want everyone to evacuate, but there is complete gridlock and there is not a single traffic officer on the road to help.”
Another online post is 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… . . away.’
Most of the affected celebrity homes appear to be on the east side of the Pacific Palisades, including the properties of Eugene Levy, Billy Crystal and Anna Faris.
On the west side of the Palisades, the childhood home of Leighton Meester and husband Adam Brody burned to ashes, as did that of basketball player Kawhi Leonard.
Meanwhile, Steve Guttenberg’s home in the The Summit area of the Palisades was also surrounded by the raging wildfires, but was miraculously spared.
Paris Hilton, 43, said she watched her waterfront home in Malibu burn down live on television in an emotional social media post last Wednesday.
“Sitting with my family, watching the news and seeing our house in Malibu burn to the ground live on TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” the socialite said on X/Twitter, accompanied by a clip from KABC in which the damage.
Hilton packed her “babies,” her five Pomeranians, into the back of her car as she fled her Malibu mansion in the middle of the night.
She shared a video of her animals all sitting together in the backseat as she described how she ran around her house to find each of her pets.
She said, “Okay, we found everyone, we’re packing the car and getting ready to go to the hotel.”
Jason Oppenheim, star of US reality show Selling Sunset, told BBC1’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg today: ‘The hotels are overwhelmed as far as Newport Beach and even as far away as San Diego you can’t get a hotel room at the moment.’
He accused private landlords of taking advantage of people being displaced and jacking up rents.
He said: “It’s all hands on deck now, but it’s really difficult because there are thousands of people who are displaced and have no place to stay.
Paris Hilton’s Malibu Beach home is among those reduced to rubble by the LA fires
The socialite shared on Instagram how she saw her building burn to the ground
“And unfortunately, and this is something I want to discuss because I think it needs to be brought to light, but there are landlords who are taking advantage of the situation.
“I had a client – we sent him to a house that was asking €13,000 (€10,600) a month – he offered €20,000 (€16,400) a month, and he offered to pay six months in advance.
‘And the landlord said, “No, I want $23,000 (18,800) a month.” You know, there are price gouging laws in California that are just being ignored right now.
“And this is not the time to take advantage of situations, nor is it illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster.”