Meryl Streep’s nephew recounts harrowing fire escape

Michelle Vueges
3 Min Read
Meryl Streep's nephew recounts harrowing fire escape

Meryl Streep had to act quickly to escape the wildfires that tore through Los Angeles in early January. According to an account from her nephew, Abe Streep, published in New York Magazine, the three-time Academy Award winner received an evacuation order on January 8. However, when she tried to leave, she discovered that a large tree had fallen over in her driveway, blocking her only exit.

Determined to make it out, Streep borrowed wire cutters from a neighbor. She then cut a car-size hole in the fence she shared with the neighbors on the other side of her property. This allowed her to drive through their yard and escape to safety.

Abe Streep’s article in New York Magazine featured the experiences of various Los Angeles residents who escaped the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires. These massive blazes ignited on January 7 and devastated large areas of the city, including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and Altadena. The fires killed at least 29 people and destroyed more than 15,000 structures.

Escaping the Palisades inferno

In the article, Abe Streep also shared the fate of other celebrity homes in the Palisades. He detailed the total loss experienced when his own home in Altadena went up in flames.

Actor Haley Joel Osment, another resident, lost a piano bequeathed from his parents and his record collection of 500 albums. Osment’s father also lost his home in the fire. Despite this, Osment expressed his love for the area and his intention to return and rebuild in Altadena.

Martin Short, Streep’s co-star in “Only Murders in the Building,” has been a Pacific Palisades resident for decades. One of his sons urged him to evacuate, and he decided to take a family photo as he escaped the quickly-growing blaze. Short shared that on January 7, it took more than an hour to exit the Pacific Palisades, with residents abandoning their vehicles to flee on foot.

As of Tuesday morning, the Palisades and Eaton fires were 95 percent and 99 percent contained, respectively. The Eaton Fire is officially the largest in Los Angeles history.

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