Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West and Alyssa Milano are among thousands of southern California residents forced to flee their homes as wildfires ravaged areas west of Los Angeles into the weekend.
Social media posts published by Ms. Kardashian West, Ms. Milano and other celebrities including singers Melissa Etheridge and Cher placed them among the Californians personally affected by the fast-moving Woolsey and Hill Fires that started Thursday evening in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Properties including the home of “Dr. Strange” director Scott Derrickson and Paramount Ranch, a popular filming location in Agoura Hills, Calif., were both reportedly destroyed in the blaze as well.
Ms. Kardashian West, a reality television personality who recently visited President Trump at the White House, said on Instagram that she safely evacuated her Los Angeles County home on Thursday evening as the wildfires approached.
“I heard the flames have hit our property at our home in Hidden Hills but now are more contained and have stopped at the moment,” she said from her Twitter account Friday. “It doesn’t seems like it is getting worse right now, I just pray the winds are in our favor. God is good. I’m just praying everyone is safe.”
Ms. Milano, an actress and liberal activist prominently involved in the MeToo movement, tweeted Friday that she safely evacuated the area along with her children and five horses, but that her home was “in jeopardy.”
Mr. Derrickson, meanwhile, said he was certain his residence was ravaged as a result of the historic wildfires.
“We lost our home, but we are all safe and that’s the important thing,” the director tweeted Friday.
A filming location used for movie and television shoots dating back to the 1920s, Paramount Ranch was destroyed in the Woolsey fire, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area confirmed Friday. The ranch was purchased by Paramount nearly a century ago and was recently used for the set of “Westworld,” a Western series launched by HBO in 2016.
Musicians including Cher and Ms. Etheridge, among others, said they were unsure if their homes would survive the fire, meanwhile.
“I’m worried about my house, but there is nothing I can do,” Cher tweeted. “Friends houses have burned. I can’t bear the thought of there being no Malibu I’ve had a house in Malibu since 1972.”
“We have gone to a hotel in Santa Monica where we will stay until we can return. Send love and strength to our amazing California firefighters. #safe,” tweeted Ms. Etheridge.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, acting in place of Gov. Jerry Brown, who is traveling out of state, declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties Friday on account of the wildfires.
At least nine people have died as a result of the fires as of Saturday, and more than 250,000 have been asked to evacuate.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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