Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke revealed he narrowly escaped death and needed to be carried to safety by neighbors when wildfire threatened his Malibu home, just days before his 99th birthday.
Van Dyke said he was crawling for his life until a neighbor rushed to help.
“I forgot how old I am, and I realized I was crawling to get out,” Van Dyke told NBC News Thursday. “I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up.”
The actor tried to protect his property with “a fire hose that hooks up to my pool” as flames approached. “It was coming over the hill. You [could] see it,” he told Today.
Security camera footage showed Van Dyke “soaking wet” as three neighbors helped him to safety while evacuating with his wife, Arlene Silver, 53, and their pets.
The legendary #DickVanDyke is praising neighbors for helping to evacuate him and his wife, Arlene during the #FranklinFire.
We sat down to talk about his harrowing ordeal ahead of his 99th birthday.
His story tonight on @NBCNightlyNews pic.twitter.com/J3y5MNiN11— Dana Griffin (@DanaGriffinNBC) December 12, 2024
“Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me. Thank God for them,” Van Dyke said. “I don’t think I would have made it.”
The Franklin Fire has burned over 4,000 acres in Malibu, with only 30% contained by Thursday night. The blaze, which began Monday near Pepperdine University, has affected 18,000 people and 8,100 buildings, with 2,000 under evacuation orders.
Several other celebrities evacuated the area, including Cher, Mira Sorvino, and Jane Seymour.
“All my Malibu friends and neighbors I pray that you are safe,” Sorvino wrote on X. “We evacuated in the middle of the night, kids and pets all accounted for! Scary times!!”
Van Dyke initially reported his cat Bobo was missing after the evacuation but later confirmed via Facebook that all family members and pets were safe at home. “We’re praying he’ll be OK and that our community in Sierra Retreat will survive these terrible fires,” he had written.