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Wednesday, 24 October 2007

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California fires force stars to evacuate

Mel Gibson flees Malibu home and Nobu is closed for business

Hollywood stars fled their beach mansions and television shows had production disrupted because of the Southern California wildfires this week.

"All I see is smoke," Kelsey Grammer, who was evacuated from his Malibu home, tells E! Online, "but we're okay. We're safe. We got the dog, we got the kids."

The actor says he comforted his daughter when they had to leave their house.

"She woke up: 'Daddy, what's the matter?'" he says. "I said, 'Oh honey, it's nothing. Just relax. Come on, we're going to have some fun.' So she shined the flashlight around and we got out. It was fine."

• Also evacuated from their Malibu homes were Mel Gibson and his family and Victoria Principal, who left with only her pets and some photos, their reps say. Principal donated $50,000 to the Malibu evacuation center for food and blankets and another $10,000 to the animal shelter rescuing stray pets.

• A scene with Kiefer Sutherland in 24 shooting in Orange County was canceled Monday because of health reasons from the smoke drifting in from nearby blazes, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

• The TV show Big Shots canceled a cycling sequence scheduled to shoot Tuesday in Malibu, and The Riches had to rewrite a scene involving the use of real-life sheriff's deputies who were dispatched from the set to help fire crews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

• The pricey restaurant Nobu in Malibu, favored by Jennifer Aniston and other A-listers, has been closed to the public since Sunday, but will start serving meals to firefighters, TMZ.com reports.

• Richard Gere and John Travolta got an aerial view of the coastal fires as they flew into Los Angeles on Monday for the 11th annual Hollywood Awards. "It's as far as you could see in both directions," Gere told Access Hollywood. "The smoke was actually in the plane as we flew through." Added Travolta: "It was a large area, surprisingly large. I mean I never like to see that."

By Mike Fleeman