Dick Van Dyke almost escaped his Malibu property as wildfires consumed the surrounding area.
On Thursday, the “Mary Poppins” star told a local news station that he had “exhausted” himself trying to untangle his fire hose before his neighbours came to his aid.
“It was coming from the hill, you could see it,” Van Dyke said of the fire.
“I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up,” he talked about. “And three neighbours arrived and carried me out.
The beloved actor, who turns 99 on Friday, stated that the courageous locals “came back” to his home to “put out a little fire in the guest house.”
“[They] saved me,” he stated.
Ring footage shows Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene Silver, escape the residence with the assistance of their neighbours.
However, the couple claimed on Facebook that one of their cats had gone missing amid the chaos.
“Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals, except for Bobo, who escaped as we were leaving,” Van Dyke wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
“We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
luckily when Van Dyke and Silver, 53, returned home on Wednesday, Bobo was waiting for them.
“We found Bobo as soon as we returned home this morning,” he said in an update, which included a photo of the fuzzy orange kitten.
“There was so much concern about his absence that Animal Control was called in to help. Fortunately, he was easily found and unharmed .
The Franklin Fire began as a small brushfire on Monday night. However, fire swiftly extended beyond the Pacific Coast Highway, burning nearly 4000 acres in Malibu and forcing hundreds to flee the area.
Other celebrities affected by the fire were Cher, Barbra Streisand, Ricki Lake, Mark Hamill, and others.
Cher’s spokeswoman informed the New York Times earlier this week that she and her pets had checked into a hotel without incident.
Hamill, for his part, informed his Instagram followers that he was “in lockdown because of the Malibu fires.”
“Please stay safe, everyone!” I am not permitted to leave the house, which fits nicely with my elderly-recluse lifestyle.”