Steve Guttenberg reminds LA of shared humanity during wildfires: 'Just wheeling a small suitcase behind you'
Actor Steve Guttenberg discusses the devastating wildfires sweeping through Southern California and shares his firsthand experiences on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum.'
Sarah Michelle Gellar chastised Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday as the Palisades Fire burned in Los Angeles.
"City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping," Gellar wrote on Instagram stories with tags to the official social media accounts for the City of Los Angeles and Bass.
The Palisades Fire, driven by strong Santa Ana winds, began in the Santa Monica Mountains late Tuesday morning and quickly engulfed 200 acres within an hour, surging to nearly 3,000 acres by sunset, FOX Weather reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Bass' office for comment.
PALISADES FIRE: RICKI LAKE MOURNS LOSS OF 'DREAM HOME' AS CELEBS FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD
Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of many who criticized L.A. Mayor Karen Bass as fires roared through Los Angeles neighborhoods. (Getty Images)
Mauricio Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, a real estate brokerage firm primarily based in Southern California who also starred on Netflix's "Buying Beverly Hills," told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he was disappointed in the California government's lack of preparedness before the fires.
"We are one of the largest economies in the world, California on its own. Los Angeles, you know, being the second-largest city in the country, our taxes are the highest paying taxes in the country. And the fact that we were unprepared, I mean, we're not going to be able to stop an accident from happening, but the fact that our government was unprepared, we didn't do the brush clearance, we didn't have the water in the fire hydrants, we were unprepared, and we did not spend the money where we needed to spend the money and all this money.
"The budgets are terrible, and I'm just tremendously disappointed in our in our politicians. Our mayor not being in town, not rushing to come back into town and being speechless. It's just it's unacceptable."
He added that his agency is doing all they can to help people displaced by the fires get housed.
Mauricio Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, a real estate brokerage firm primarily based in Southern California who also starred on Netflix's "Buying Beverly Hills," told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he was disappointed in the California government's lack of preparedness before the fires. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Homeless Not Toothless)
Mel Gibson slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Joe Rogan's podcast on Thursday, joking that "all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin's hair gel" instead of wildfire prevention.
He told Rogan he would be surprised if his Pacific Palisades home hadn't burned down.
"In 2019, Newsom said he would take care of the forest. He didn't do anything," Gibson said.
Patricia Heaton on Thursday called the situation "heartbreaking," adding that many of her friends worked hard for years building beautiful homes for their families "and it's all going up in smoke – and preventable by the way."
"We have a mayor who cut the budget of the fire department in California by over $17 million. Fire is the biggest hazard in Los Angeles! Why would you cut the budget? There was no water in the fire hydrants in the Palisades. And by the way, she wasn't even in town during like fire season. A completely stupid trip to Ghana."
She added that she doesn't hate California, she loves it. "We had 32 beautiful years there, and the people running the show just decimated the place."
"It's so enraging that they took one of the most beautiful states, maybe the most beautiful state in the union, and just continued to destroy it. Gavin Newsom standing there with his hands in his pockets. ‘Oh Well.’ I just really feel for everybody there. I really do."
Former "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy aired grievances on social media Wednesday, writing, "5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn't have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?! Come on."
Sarah Michelle Gellar and professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy criticized leadership response to the L.A. fires. (Instagram)
Model and TV personality Amber Rose joined in with concerns over water, writing on her Instagram story: "How TF is there Low water pressure in Los Angeles???? WTF The fire hydrants barely work here??? This is insane!"
Sara Foster wrote on X, We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits. @MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."
Her comments were re-posted by Candace Cameron Bure, who previously told Fox News Digital she worries families and small businesses will not recover following the fires.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels remembered losing her home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire as she took to X to criticize California's leadership.
"5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn't have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?!"
"The mayor is apparently in Ghana," she wrote. "The fire departments budget was apparently cut by 17 mil. And someone made the decision to not refill some of the reservoirs - now some fire hydrants are dry. Leadership in California is beyond negligent. This is completely unacceptable."
In another post, Michaels continued, "California governor @GavinNewsom issues a press release admitting they knew about the insane fire risk this past Sunday because he was propositioning fire engines. And yet, he just called in the national guard a few hours ago. Pacific Palisades ran out of water at 3am. I’m so so upset for the people of California. My family who stayed. My lifelong friends who live there. Our brave firefighters. This is not a partisan issue it’s pure incompetence and misprioritization."
James Woods, who lost his home Tuesday in the Palisades Fire, wrote on X that the blaze wasn't from "climate change" but due to "liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass."
ACTOR STEVE GUTTENBERG HELPS PALISADES FIRE FIRST RESPONDERS AS FLAMES RAGE, 'IT'S A GHOST TOWN'
"One doesn't understand the first thing about fire management and the other can't fill the water reservoirs," he added. Woods posted throughout the day as he prepared to evacuate his home, and he later gave fans a somber update that he had lost his house in the Pacific Palisades.
WATCH: ACTOR JAMES WOODS SAYS 'IT'S POSSIBLE' HIS HOUSE IS STILL STANDING
In the rush to evacuate, many people abandoned their cars on the roads and actor Steve Guttenberg sprang into action to help firefighters and moved cars stranded on Sunset Boulevard by residents fleeing the fire, he exclusively told Fox News Digital. "It's kind of like Zombieland, you know, there's all these abandoned cars all over the street."
Los Angeles Fire Department officials confirmed the Palisades Fire broke out after 11 a.m. near the southeast side of Palisades Drive. Evacuation orders were issued as the blaze grew to approximately 200 acres in size.
Vehicles are abandoned on the road after occupants got stuck in traffic while evacuating. (Getty Images)
Guttenberg – known for his roles in "Police Academy" and "Three Men and a Baby" – urged people who were leaving their vehicles behind while evacuating to also leave their keys so crews could make their way through to the fire.
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"What people do is that they abandon their cars, and it's a crisis, and they don't leave their keys in their cars," Guttenberg told Fox News Digital. "What happens is, the fire trucks can't get up the street because they have all these abandoned cars with no ability to move them. So what I was doing was helping out move cars and put them up on the hill and clear the way for the fire department."
"I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town."
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Guttenberg noted the blaze was "the biggest fire that we've ever seen in the Palisades. It's enormous."
"We've had small fires, but this is definitely the biggest one, and it's just burning out of control in certain areas," he said. "I was able to make it up here, sort of a pocket where there is no fire. So everybody's safe, and I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town. Everybody's gone. And I think that's what's important. That's what it should be in a big fire like this."
WATCH: STEVE GUTTENBERG RECALLS HELPING FIRE CREWS DURING THE PALISADES FIRE.
Cars are pictured in the aftermath of a Pacific Palisades inferno on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTTV)
Actor Dean Cain appeared on "Fox & Friends" where he called out the California Democrats for their response to the Palisades fire and others that broke out Wednesday.
Cain, known for his role as Clark Kent in the TV series, claimed the disappointing response was a "perfect storm" of mismanagement and leadership failure.
WATCH: ACTOR DEAN CAIN SLAMS LA'S MISMANAGEMENT OF FIRE RESPONSE ‘PERFECT STORM’ BY LEADERSHIP FAILURE
Meanwhile, Zachary Levi appeared on "Jesse Waters Primetime" and called for California's political leadership to be "held responsible" as wildfires burned down neighborhoods near Los Angeles.
The "Shazam!" star questioned if there was "criminal intentionality" in the mismanagement of the fire response.
WATCH: ZACHARY LEVI WANTS CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP ‘HELD RESPONSIBLE’ FOR WILDFIRE RESPONSE
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Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
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