"I couldn’t get up": Dick Van Dyke neighbors saved him from Malibu fire after he crawled to escape

The star turned 99 on Friday, Dec. 13

By Nardos Haile

Staff Writer

Published December 13, 2024 1:24PM (EST)

Dick Van Dyke speaks during the 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on May 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Dick Van Dyke speaks during the 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on May 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Dick Van Dyke narrowly escape the Malibu wildfires just before his 99th birthday on Friday.

The actor and entertainer told a local California news outlet for "The Today Show" that his neighbors saved him, stating he had difficulty evacuating his home during the fire in Malibu this week. The fire burned more than 2,600 acres and it caused widespread evacuations and power cutoffs, prompting Van Dyke to flee his home, Variety reported.

Van Dyke said, "[The fire] was coming from the hill, you could see it. And oh my God. We got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up. Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me.”

In a Facebook post shared Thursday, the star addressed that his wife, Arlene Silver, and their pets had been safely evacuated from their home. But he said one of his pets, a cat named Bobo, had gone missing, forcing the family to stay home until they were forced to evacuate. Fortunately, Van Dyke's home and cat survived the fire.

Van Dyke 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," he said.

The entertainer wasn't the only celebrity who had to evacuate their California homes this week. Mira Sorvino and Cher were also forced to flee their homes, as did thousands of other residents in the area.

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