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- Wildfires have broken out in Los Angeles and are raging through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
- Stars including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Milo Ventimiglia have lost their homes.
- The average house price in the northern LA area is around $4.5 million, per Realtor.com data.
The biggest of the wildfires in Los Angeles has been tearing through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Stars, including Paris Hilton, Milo Ventimiglia, and Billy Crystal, have lost their homes.
The area, located between Santa Monica and Malibu in northern Los Angeles, is home to some of the country's most expensive real estate. The average house price is about $4.5 million, according to Realtor.com data. Ben Affleck, for instance, bought his $20.5 million mansion there in July.
Other celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Keaton, Adam Sandler, Miles Teller, and Eugene Levy, also live in the neighborhood.
The fire started on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades before spreading west toward the Malibu stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. On Wednesday, the city of Malibu issued a statement on X advising residents to prepare to evacuate. By Thursday, it had spread to 27 square miles in the area.
The fire is now also spreading east toward Santa Monica and Encino and has burned more than 21,000 acres.
Milo Ventimiglia of 'Heroes' watched his home burn down on security cameras: 'Your heart just breaks'
Milo Ventimiglia, who's known for starring in "This is Us" and "Heroes," watched his home in Malibu burn via security cameras with Jarah Ventimiglia, his wife, who is nine months pregnant.
Speaking outside of his home on Thursday, he told CBS it was "heavy" seeing the extent of the damage.
He said: "You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and whatnot. And then you see your neighbors' houses and everything, kind of around, and your heart just breaks."
Ventimiglia also recalled watching his house burn down: "I think there's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real, and this is happening.' And then, at a certain point, we just turned it off. What good is it to continue watching? We kind of accepted the loss."
He added: "We've got good friends, and we've got good people we're working with. We'll make do. Wife and baby and dog are most important."
Actors Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung, who are married, confirmed on Thursday that their home had burned down, but that their family was safe.
Greenberg shared a photo of the wreckage on his Instagram story, writing: "It was all a dream. Thankfully the family is safe. Thank you to all of the firefighters risking their lives. Stay safe out there."
Mel Gibson said his house burned down while he was recording 'The Joe Rogan Experience'
Mel Gibson told NewsNation on Thursday, that he learned about the fires in his Malibu neighborhood while recording an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" in Texas.
He said: "I was doing the Rogan podcast, and kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn't there."
Gibson added: "Obviously, it's kind of devastating. It's emotional. You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. "
He said the fact his family was"out of harm's way" was "all I can care about, really."
Paris Hilton said she 'built precious memories' at her destroyed Malibu home
On Wednesday, Paris Hilton shared on Instagram that she was "heartbroken beyond words" to learn that her Malibu home had been destroyed in the fire.
"Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience," Hilton wrote. "This home was where we built so many precious memories."
Although the loss felt "overwhelming," she said she was grateful that her family and pets were safe.
On Thursday, Hilton returned to her home and posted a video of the wreckage on Instagram.
In the caption, she said: "The heartbreak is truly indescribable."
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