LA fires: Father-to-be actor Milo Ventimiglia holds back tears on TV after house destroyed

Ventimiglia, who is expecting his first child with his wife Jarah, fought back tears as he visited the remnants of his home that was reduced to ashes.

Speaking to CBS, he described the feeling as “heavy”, adding: “You started to think about all the memories in different parts of the house and whatnot and when you see your neighbour’s houses and everything kind of around, your heart just breaks.”

The Gilmore Girls actor who evacuated with his pregnant wife on Tuesday, said he watched the house burn to the ground through their security cameras. He said: “I think there is a kind of shock moment where you’re going, ‘’Oh, this is real, this is happening’, and then at certain point we turned it off, what good is it to continue watching. You know, we kind of accepted the loss.”

The fires in southern California began on Tuesday afternoon (7 January) with intense winds in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, one of the city’s most desirable addresses and home to a series of A-list movie stars. Several celebrities have seen their homes burn down including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton. Crystal and his wife, Janice, released a statement on Wednesday saying their home of 45 years in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood was lost.

Of the fires raging in Los Angeles, the Palisades fire on the west side of Los Angeles had consumed the most territory – nearly 20,000 acres and thousands of structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu. Though relatively small, the Sunset fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame, while to the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, the Eaton fire claimed another 13,690 acres, nearly 5,000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said.

The Department of Medical Examiner announced it received notification of 10 fire-related fatalities on Thursday evening. But the death toll is expected to climb. There are currently five wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area, these are the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia fires.