As fires continue to rage in Southern California, Milo Ventimiglia was one of many to lose his home in the tragedy.
After evacuating with his family on Tuesday, the 3x Emmy nominee spoke about the “heavy” experience of losing his home in the Malibu fire while surveying the damage, noting that it “hit you so fast” that he was suffocating.
“You start thinking about all the memories that are in different parts of the house and so forth,” Ventimiglia said on the CBS Evening News. “Then you see your neighbors’ houses and everything around you, and your heart breaks.”
He pointed out that he and his wife, Jara Mariano, watched the fire engulf their house in front of security cameras.
“I think there's kind of a moment of shock where you'll say, 'Oh, this is real, this is happening,'” he explained. “Then at a certain point, we turned it off. What's the point of continuing to watch? “We kind of accepted the loss.”
As he and Mariano prepared to welcome their first child, Ventimiglia noted that their bed was one of the items missing in the fire. “Everything is set up,” he said.
“We have good friends, we have good people to work with,” Ventimiglia said. “We will do it. The wife, child and dog are most important.
Ventimiglia also acknowledged the coincidence this is us The patriarch character, Jack Pearson, saves his family from a house fire before dying of a heart attack caused by smoke inhalation. He said: “I never lost sight of life imitating art.”
His ex-wife Mandy Moore was also one of many forced to evacuate amid the fires, with stars such as Paris Hilton, Adam Brody, Leighton Meester and Billy Crystal losing their homes.
Dozens of beachfront homes in Malibu, California were destroyed overnight in the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Fires broke out in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Eaton Canyon, the Hollywood Hills and other areas around Los Angeles County amid a “life-threatening and devastating” wind storm that began Tuesday.
As of Thursday, at least six people had died in the Southern California wildfires, which have forced nearly 180,000 people to evacuate and left more than 1.5 million without power.
President Joe Biden, who extended his trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday to visit first responders and those affected, declared the fires a major disaster.
“More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate communities affected by wildfires in Southern California,” Biden wrote on X. “At least two people were killed. Many more were injured – including firefighters. It's devastating. To the people of Southern California: we are with you.”
