Dick Van Dyke tried “crawling to the car” in a bid to escape a wildfire and was rescued by neighbours who carried him to safety.
The Mary Poppins star, 98, and his wife Arlene fled their home in Malibu, California, earlier this week following the outbreak of the blaze — dubbed the Franklin Fire by authorities — and he’s now revealed he was too “exhausted” to walk to his vehicle and was picked up by fellow residents who got him help.
During an appearance on the Today show, Dick explained: “It was coming from the hill, you could see it. And oh my god, and we got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up.
“Three neighbours came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me.”
After being evacuated, the actor took to Facebook to assure fans he and Arlene were safe but he revealed his beloved cat Bobo had vanished as they were trying to leave.
He wrote: “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo who escaped as we were leaving. We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Bobo was later found safe and well and was reunited with his owners when they returned home.
In a later post on Facebook, Dick shared a picture of Arlene cuddling Bobo alongside officials from Animal Control.
He wrote: “We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning. There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”
Dick was not the only star forced to flee as the wildfire approached the A-list enclave of Malibu with pop superstar Cher also having to leave with her pets.
A representative for the singer told People: “Cher was required to evacuate her home and did so in the very early hours of Tuesday morning. She thankfully is safe.”
Actress Mira Sorvino also revealed she had fled to safety. In a post on X, she wrote: “All my Malibu friends and neighbours I pray that you are safe.
“We evacuated in the middle of the night, kids and pets all accounted for! Scary times!!”
ALSO READ: Malibu wildfire destroys homes, forces 6,300 people to evacuate
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