Celebrities Among 250,000 Residents Fleeing Fast-Moving Woolsey Fire
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/CBS News) — A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California has scorched a historic movie site recently used by the HBO series "Westworld" and forced numerous celebrities to join the thousands fleeing flames that have claimed homes and prompted the total evacuation of the celebrity enclave Malibu.
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Kim Kardashian West, Scott Baio, Rainn Wilson and Guillermo del Toro are among numerous celebrities forced to evacuate their homes, in some cases hurriedly trying to arrange transport for their horses. Some, like del Toro and Caitlyn Jenner, did not know the fate of their homes, but the wind-driven wildfire has destroyed the home of "Dr. Strange" director Scott Derrickson and the historic Paramount Ranch where shows like HBO's "Westworld" and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" were filmed.
The blaze started Thursday night and by Friday had pushed toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, prompting evacuations in Malibu, Calabasas, Aguora Hills and other nearby areas.
Alyssa Milano said her home is "in jeopardy" in hopes evacuating her five horses. The actress ultimately got the help she needed.
Kardashian West posted video on Instagram showing a portion of the blaze. "Pray for Calabasas. Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home," she wrote. "Firefighters are arriving. Thank you for all that you do for us!!!"
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area said the Paramount Ranch known as the "Western Town" served as a location for productions ranging from 1938′s "The Adventures of Marco Polo" to TV shows "The Mentalist" and "Weeds." The location known as "Western Town" is set in the mountains west of Los Angeles dates to 1927 when Paramount Pictures leased the ranch and began making films there.
RELATED: Historic Paramount Ranch, Home To 'Westworld', 'Dr. Quinn', Destroyed In Woolsey Fire
Western Town specifically was built for TV productions in the 1950s and was used for such westerns as "The Cisco Kid" and "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre."
Filming continued for decades even as the ranch changed hands. It was acquired by the National Park Service in 1980 but has continued to function as a filming location, serving as a location for the first two seasons of the sci-fi series "Westworld." HBO said it did not know extent of the damage and expressed concern for "all those affected by these horrible fires."
When not in use for filming, visitors could stroll through Western Town while hiking or ride through on horseback.
Actor James Wood asked nearly two million of his Twitter followers to use the hashtag #CampFireJamesWoods to help share names of those who are missing in a separate wildfire in Northern California that has claimed five lives.
He also tweeted resources for horse owners to have their animals evacuated from the Southern California blaze, and called Milano's report that her family and horses had been evacuated "good news." Woods was not among those displaced — he tweeted that he was on the East Coast.
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