Actor Steve Guttenberg is lending a helping hand as wildfires continue to spread across the Los Angeles area.
The ‘80s icon, 66, crashed a live KTLA 5 news report on Tuesday, January 7, to share an “important announcement” with viewers. “Here on Palisades Drive, if anybody has a car and they leave their car, leave the keys in the car so that we can move your car so that these firetrucks can get up Palisades Drive,” he said on air.
He went on to explain: “What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars. So, if you leave your car on Palisades Drive, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car and get ‘em up there so that these firetrucks can get up there. It’s really, really important.”
While the reporter didn’t recognize Guttenberg at first, he later asked, “You’re an actor?” After Guttenberg, known for movies like Three Men and a Baby and It Takes Two, confirmed he was, the reporter stated: “You look familiar to me now.”
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During the interview, Guttenberg noted that he lives in the area but was concerned about friends unable to evacuate their homes. “There are people stuck up there, so we’re trying to clear Palisades Drive,” he said. “There are families up there. There are pets up there. There are people who really need help.”
He reemphasized how it’s “really important for everybody to band together,” adding, “Don’t worry about your personal property. Just get out. Get your loved ones and get out. I have friends up there that can’t get out right now and they’ve been given evacuation orders.”
The interview ended with Guttenberg and the news crew being asked to leave the area by fire officials.
Having gotten his professional acting start in the late ’70s, Guttenberg is well known for his roles in some of the biggest shows and movies of the ‘80s, including Police Academy, Cocoon, Short Circuit and The Bedroom Window. Other notable projects include The Big Green, The Poseidon Adventure, Veronica Mars, Ballers, The Goldbergs and Paper Empire.
Santa Ana wind gusts caused fast-burning brush fires to erupt starting around 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. On Wednesday, January 8, CNN reported that over 50,000 people in L.A. were under evacuation orders and that some residents lost their homes and experienced burn injuries.
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Several stars have been affected by the wildfires, with celebs such as Eugene Levy, Mandy Moore, James Wood and Mark Hamill having to evacuate their homes. “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over the Temescal Canyon,” Levy, 78, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. “I couldn’t see any flames but the smoke was very dark.”
Sandra Lee shared footage of the flames getting dangerously close to her Malibu home via Instagram on Tuesday, writing: “As the fire draws closer, I pray for it — I pray for everyone in Los Angeles right now. What an incredibly terrifying moment for my community. As the fire reaches our doorstep, please stay in contact with each other; Community in times like these is our lifeline. We are all safe but the fire is inching closer to my slice of heaven in Malibu.”
She added: “I am sad but I am sending all my love to all the first responders and firefighters who are literally giving it all they’ve got to keep us safe!!!”
