Ellen DeGeneres was among the tens of thousands of people who have had to evacuate their homes due to devastating Southern California wildfires.
And on Tuesday, she told Extra’s Mario Lopez that she and wife Portia de Rossi had to get out in a hurry.
‘Our house…it’s there right now, but no one can get in to check on it. We basically just had to get out and leave the gates open for the fire trucks and we’re right in it…we’re right there,’ the comedienne and chat show host said.
Counting blessings: Ellen DeGeneres spoke Tuesday about having to evacuate her home due to Southern California wildfires, telling Extra she’s just grateful to have got out with her pets
Ellen, 59, revealed she had been planning to spend the Christmas holiday at her home in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, but the massive Thomas Fire means she and Portia will likely now just stay in LA.
‘We’ll just lay low and just, you know, be grateful for having our pets with us and Portia’s horses are evacuated and we’re hoping to get them someplace soon and it’s, you know, it takes something like this to just remember, you know, just how fragile life is, and how you should never take anything for granted,’ she explained.
‘I’ll be counting my blessings for Christmas,’ she added.
Ellen and Portia, who wed in 2008, have three cats and four dogs.
The Australian Arrested Development star, 44, is a keen equestrian and has several horses.
Change of plans: The comedienne and chat show host told Mario Lopez the evacuation means she’ll be spending Christmas in LA instead of at her Montecito mansion
Had to leave: Ellen took to Twitter to say she and wife Portia de Rossi had to leave their home along with thousands of others as the Thomas Fire threatened Santa Barbara communities
Too close for comfort: ‘This is our friend’s property. The ash looks like snow,’ she wrote alongside this photo she shared to Instagram on Sunday
Ellen had taken to social media to say the wildfire, which has charred more than 234,000 acres and is only 20 percent contained, was threatening her property.
On Sunday, she tweeted: ‘Our house is under threat of being burned. We just had to evacuate our pets.’
‘I’m praying for everyone in our community and thankful to all the incredible firefighters.’
She also posted a photo to Instagram that at first glance appeared top show a fire truck in a snowy landscape.
However, Ellen explained in the caption: ‘This is our friend’s property. The ash looks like snow.’
Evacuated: Ellen and Portia, who wed in 2008, have three cats, four dogs and several horses