Dick Van Dyke Says Neighbors Saved His Life After He Tried to 'Crawl' to Evacuate Malibu Fire
Film icon Dick Van Dyke says neighbors came to his aid as he tried to "crawl" to his car to evacuate the deadly fire burning in Malibu, Calif., this week.
Van Dyke, who turns 99 years old on Friday, evacuated along with his wife Arlene Silver and all but one of their pets early Tuesday. Numerous celebrities, including Cher and Mira Sorvino, were forced to evacuate along with thousands of others.
In an interview with NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin that aired on the "Today" show on Thursday, Van Dyke described the ordeal.
"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," Van Dyke said. "Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me."
The actor was captured on his own Ring doorbell camera evacuating along with his wife. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the "Mary Poppins" star revealed one of their pets, an orange cat named Bobo, escaped while they were trying to leave.
"Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving. We're praying he'll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires," he wrote.
Van Dyke was able to return home on Wednesday, and Bobo was found safe.
"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," he commented on his Facebook post. "But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed."
The Franklin Fire began on Dec. 9, and as of the latest update in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said the fire had burned a total of 4,035 acres, with containment at just 7%. Nine structures had been destroyed and six others had been damaged so far.
-- With reporting by TMX