‘We were fleeing for our lives’: Mark Hamill recounts horrifying ordeal during Pacific Palisades wildfires

Hamill has lived in L.A. for a vast majority of his five-decade career, with the only exception being when he lived in a New York City apartment while appearing on Broadway back in the early 1980’s. At that time, Hamill suffered a bizarre Broadway failure when he was cast to star in The Elephant Man because, unbeknownst to him, the show was on its last legs. As a result, it closed just three weeks later.

Hamill, shocked, was forced to leave New York and move back to LA. Since then, Hamill has experienced multiple wildfires, including the 1993 fires in Malibu, which destroyed 268 homes and caused $219 million in damage.

Now, the Pacific Palisades wildfire is rapidly becoming the most destructive fire that L.A. has ever known. As of this writing, the fires cover an area of 15,800 acres and there is zero percent containment with over 1,000 structures already destroyed. Additionally, and most tragically, two people have died as a result of the fires.

Hamill took to Instagram to explain that he evacuated his Malibu home at 7pm on Tuesday night, ultimately driving to safety in Hollywood but initially noting that there were “small fires on both sides of the road,” upon his departure. He also called it “the most horrific fire since ‘93.”

However, he was apparently downplaying the evacuation at the time and later replied to his own post by mocking his claim of small fires, stating, “Gimme a break — we were fleeing for our lives.”

It’s not yet known if Hamill’s house is still standing, but other actors such as among the celebrities who have recounted their experiences in the midst of the blaze. Woods posted that his next door neighbor’s house caught fire but that, thankfully, his neighbors have already evacuated.

Numerous people have posted about the lack of water available to firefighters due to the months-long drought suffered in California. During a press conference on Wednesday, officials further explained that significant water pressure issues have impacted the supply of water to fire hydrants. Thus, fire hydrants have little use at the moment which is obviously playing a major role in the inability to contain the fire.

Thus far, according to AP News, over 70,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate, a majority of whom live in the Pacific Palisades area. The evacuation orders have also extended to some parts of Santa Monica as well as Altadena.

A total of at least 1.5 million homes in those noted areas are currently without power. Over a thousand firefighters are taking on the task of battling the wildfires, though they are facing numerous obstacles and have emphasized how critical air from helicopters will be moving forward. Hamill detailed his experience on Instagram, after announcing Donald Trump’s stunning election victory.