Mel Gibson has revealed that he discovered his house was destroyed in the California wildfires while he was out of town recording a podcast with Joe Rogan.
A series of severe wildfires have swept through the Los Angeles area, ravaging communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Department has disclosed that there are at least 11 fatalities, per The Guardian. Five of those deaths were due to the Palisades fire, and the other six resulted from the Eaton fire.
Officials warned that they expect a rise in the death toll as cadaver dogs search through leveled neighborhoods in an area larger than San Francisco.
They also added that identifying victims could take weeks due to ongoing fires, extreme safety hazards, and the potential unavailability of identification methods like fingerprinting or visual recognition.
The destructive wildfires, which also include the Hurst, Lidia, and Kenneth blazes, have impacted many people from all walks of life, from ordinary members of the public to high-profile celebrities like Gibson, Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, and Billy Crystal.
The Academy-award-winning actor, 69, appeared on Elizabeth Vargas Reports on NewsNation to open up about how the horrific event has affected him.
He shared that he was recording The Joe Rogan Experience in Austin, Texas, when he found out that his $23.5 million mansion “completely toasted,” describing the loss as both “devastating” and “emotional”.
“I’ve never seen such a complete burn,” Gibson said. “It is obviously devastating, it’s emotional. You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. I lived there for about 14, 15 years, so it was home to me.”
The Mad Max star expressed the pain of losing personal items, including photographs, files, and irreplaceable mementos collected over the years. “I had a lot of personal things there that I can’t get back,” he shared.
Still, Gibson remained focused on what truly mattered. “That can all be replaced. These are only things,” he said.
“The good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way,” he added.
While on Rogan’s podcast, Gibson didn’t hold back his criticism of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s handling of wildfire prevention and ecological management.
Many have questioned why the LA official was not better prepared for this disaster, given the ample warnings of strong winds.
“I think Newsom said, ‘I’m going to take care of the forest and maintain the forest and do all that kind of stuff’ he didn’t do anything,” Gibson said during the two-hour conversation.
Rogan, 57, expressed concern about reports of water shortages affecting firefighters battling the blazes, stating: “And on top of that, they cut the water off.”
“I think all our tax dollars probably went for Gavin’s hair gel,” the Braveheart actor quipped. “It’s sad. The place is just on fire.”
The blazes erupted on Tuesday (January 7), driven by fierce Santa Ana winds, which subsided on Thursday (January 9). However, forecasters warn of potential wind gusts returning later this weekend.
Over 180,000 residents were forced to evacuate the area, as dry, hurricane-force winds hindered firefighting operations and spread the fires, which have burned thousands of acres and buildings.
While the exact causes of these fires are still under investigation, authorities have made an arrest in connection with the Kenneth Fire.
