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Dick Van Dyke, 98, helped neighbors get to safety as a fast-moving wildfire fanned by strong winds approached his Malibu home, the legendary entertainer told NBC News.
Van Dy, who turns 99 on Friday, told NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin that flames from the 4,000-acre Franklin Fire were in his backyard when neighbors came to help. Ta.
“I was trying to crawl to my car. I was so exhausted I couldn’t get up,” Van Dyke told NBC News. “Then three of my neighbors came and carried me out, and they came back and put out the small fire in the guest house and saved me.”
In a Tuesday post on the “Mary Poppins” star’s Facebook page, Van Dyke said he and his wife Arlene safely evacuated from the Serra Retreat community overlooking the Los Angeles County coast, but the couple’s cat Bobo was missing. He said it had become. Updates to the comment thread included encouraging updates and photos.
“I found Bobo as soon as I got home this morning,” the post reads. “There was a lot of interest in his disappearance and animal control was requested for assistance. However, fortunately he was easily located and was not harmed.”
Thursday’s update to his Facebook page featured a photo of the six-time Emmy winner, who won a Tony Award for his role in the 1960 musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” based on the stage production. He rose to stardom through movies. A stationary bike with a caption indicating that he and Arlene returned home Thursday morning.
The Franklin Fire started Monday night and quickly grew from 2,200 acres to nearly 4,000 acres overnight. A red flag warning was in effect for the Malibu region, which includes rugged coastal mountains, and expired Wednesday afternoon.
The fire destroyed or damaged approximately 12 buildings, including the heavily damaged Serra Retreat area. The fire nearly doubled in size within 24 hours and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate.
Van Dyke told NBC News: “This time we messed up… They hooked up a fire hose to the pool and shot it out like a 70-foot stream of water. Well, we weren’t prepared. ” he said. I went out. It roared and I’m lying on the ground trying to disconnect this fire hose and the fire is coming over the hill. What I did was exhaust myself. I forgot how old I was and found myself crawling out.
“It was coming from over the hill, you could see it.”
Winds are expected to remain calm Thursday, improving weather conditions for firefighters who increased containment to 7 percent Wednesday.
“Because of the calm weather, we were able to have a lot of success around the fire,” Dusty Martin with Cal Fire said at a news conference Wednesday night. “We are monitoring wind changes (on Thursday) for the possibility of a change in the direction of the fire.”
Dick Van Dyke is trying to popularize the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
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