Steve Guttenberg calls LA wildfires ‘the great equalizer’, urges people to lean on each other
Steve Guttenberg continues its efforts to help first responders and those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, the actor, best known for his roles in “Police Academy” and “Three Men and a Baby,” shared footage of the damage Pacific Palisades neighborhood from the flames and explained why he thinks the disaster is “the great equalizer.”
“It’s a great equalizer because it doesn’t matter how much money you have, the big house you have, your own fancy car,” he said. “At the end of the day, you’re just walking down the street with a small suitcase looking for evacuation and looking for someone to help you get where you’re going. That’s all you’ve got.”
ACTOR STEVE GUTTENBERG HELPS PALISADES FIRST RESPOND TO FIRE AS FLAMES RAGE, ‘IT’S A GHOST TOWN’
Steve Guttenberg called the LA wildfires “the great equalizer.” (Getty Images)
Earlier this week, Guttenberg went to the rescue of firefighters and moved cars stuck on Sunset Boulevard by residents fleeing the blaze, he told Fox News Digital exclusively.
“It’s kind of like Zombieland, you know. There’s all these abandoned cars all over the street,” the star explained on Tuesday.
Guttenberg urged people who left their vehicles behind during the evacuation to also leave their keys behind so crews could get to the fire.
Steve Guttenberg helped firefighters move vehicles stuck during the Palisades fire. (Gilbert Flores)
“What people are doing is leaving their cars, and it’s a crisis. And they’re not leaving their keys in their cars,” Guttenberg told Fox News Digital on Jan. 7. “What’s happening is the fire trucks can’t get up the street because they have all these abandoned cars with no way to move them. So I’ve been helping to move the cars and put them on the hill and clear the way for the fire department.”
Guttenberg noted that the inferno is “the biggest fire we’ve ever seen in the Palisades. It’s huge.”
“We’ve had small fires, but this one is definitely the biggest and it’s just burning out of control in certain areas,” he said. “I managed to climb up here, a kind of pocket where there is no fire. So everyone is safe.
“I just wanted to see what I could do to help some of my neighbors, but it’s a ghost town. They’re all gone. And I think that’s what’s important. That’s how it should be in a big fire like this.”
Now, after some time to reflect, Guttenberg said he is “overwhelmed” by what he witnessed for the first time two days ago.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
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“I was out of my mind and overcome when I saw my house from the road and my whole block was intact,” he told Fox News Digital Thursday. “But we live in a community of about 80 homes — little, little development — and about 20 of those homes burned down. So it’s very, very upsetting. And now it’s time to help my neighbors.
“The smoke is terrible,” he added. “I help all my neighbors. And there are about eight guys left. And we will all help each other. There is no water. We have no water, there is no water anywhere. And we have to collect water.”
As of Thursday, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone announced that the Eaton and Palisades fires were 0% contained. The Eaton Fire has spread to 10,600 acres and the Palisades Fire has reached 17,234 acres.
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The sun rises over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in West Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires. (Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters)
Another wildfire in Acton is 40 percent contained, Marrone said. That fire was limited to only 348 hectares.
Firefighters also successfully stopped the advance of the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hillsofficials said.
Approximately 180,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, and another 200,000 are under an evacuation alert.
Guttenberg said he predicts people will feel “full blown depression” after it all sinks in.
“I think we’re going to be dealing with a lot of depression, a lot of sadness after this,” he said. “It’s going to be very difficult because this is like nothing you’ve ever seen.
“I think you rely on everything you believe in. If you believe in your mom and dad, you rely on them, your siblings, your friends, your family. God. The universe. Just remember, you’re not alone.”
