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milestogo

(19,418 posts)
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:10 AM Dec 13

Dick Van Dyke recalls escaping raging Franklin Fire in Malibu

MALIBU, Calif. — Beloved actor Dick Van Dyke recalled how he escaped the fast-moving Franklin Fire raging through Malibu this week, thanks to the help of his quick-thinking neighbors. Van Dyke, who turns 99 on Friday, recalled seeing the flames encroach on a hill near his home this week. While he has already been through four wildfires in the past, this time, "I wasn't ready," he told NBC News.

“This time I messed up. ... I have a fire hose that hooks up to my pool and shoots, like, a 70-foot stream of water. Well, I wasn’t ready. I went out. It was snarled, and I’m out there laying on the ground trying to undo this fire hose, and the fire’s coming over the hill. What I did was exhaust myself. I forgot how old I am, and I realized I was crawling to get out,” he said. “It was coming from over the hill — you could see it,” he said.

As he was struggling, three neighbors came out to help him. “I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself and couldn’t get up. Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back,” he said. Van Dyke said that the neighbors carried him to the car and that he and his wife and pets swiftly got in. He praised the neighbors for saving his life. “[They] got me out of here, or I wouldn’t have done it. I don’t think I would have made it,” he said. “They also came back, and my little guest house had started to flame up in the back. They put that out. So they saved my life and my house.”

Video from his doorbell camera showed the moment he evacuated with his wife, Arlene, and their pets. They went to a hotel in Santa Monica, where he had performed back in 1948, for a night.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/dick-van-dyke-recalls-escaping-raging-franklin-fire-malibu-rcna183946

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Dick Van Dyke recalls escaping raging Franklin Fire in Malibu (Original Post) milestogo Dec 13 OP
He's an American gem. I'm so glad he's safe! n/t Dennis Donovan Dec 13 #1
Me too. I'm glad his neighbors were looking out for him. milestogo Dec 13 #2
The Hollywood history in his house is priceless SpankMe Dec 13 #3
Most importantly, he's been reunited with his cat! Wiz Imp Dec 13 #4

SpankMe

(3,370 posts)
3. The Hollywood history in his house is priceless
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 12:58 PM
Dec 13

It would suck big time if it was lost to fire.

Wiz Imp

(3,688 posts)
4. Most importantly, he's been reunited with his cat!
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 01:03 PM
Dec 13
https://people.com/dick-van-dyke-returns-home-for-99th-birthday-after-fleeing-wildfires-cat-safe-8761011

Dick Van Dyke Returns Home for 99th Birthday After Fleeing Wildfires and Reveals His Missing Cat Bobo Was Found Safe
The feline had gone missing while the legendary actor and his family were heading to safety


Dick Van Dyke has got one birthday wish crossed off his list — the safe return of his cat Bobo!

A family friend of the entertainer, Laura Johnson, revealed on Instagram that Bobo “escaped” while Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver evacuated from their home in Malibu, Calif. earlier this week due to wildfires that raged nearby.

“Our thoughts were with Dick, Arlene and their sweet animals this week as the Franklin Fire raged through their neighborhood in Malibu and the Van Dykes had to evacuate, just days before Dick’s 99th birthday,” she wrote in the post, alongside an old photo of Van Dyke and his wife cheerfully “tapping their toes” during an interview for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021.

She added that the couple was finally able to return “home again” and be “reunited with their cat Bobo (who escaped as they were evacuating! And thankfully waiting for them upon their arrival back).”

https://www.facebook.com/100001040012998/videos/2855224201188886/

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