Palisades Fire: Sarah Michelle Gellar leads stars blasting LA mayor as gridlock cripples evacuations

Sarah Michelle Gellar chastised Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday as the Palisades Fire burned in Los Angeles.

"City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping," Gellar wrote on Instagram stories with tags to the official social media accounts for the City of Los Angeles and Bass.

The Palisades Fire, driven by strong Santa Ana winds, began in the Santa Monica Mountains late Tuesday morning and quickly engulfed 200 acres within an hour, surging to nearly 3,000 acres by sunset, FOX Weather reported.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of many who criticized L.A. Mayor Karen Bass as fires roared through Los Angeles neighborhoods. (Getty Images)

Former "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy aired grievances on social media Wednesday, writing, "5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn't have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?! Come on."

Sara Foster wrote on X, We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits. @MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."

Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels remembered losing her home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire as she took to X to criticize California's leadership.

"5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn't have enough water pressure to do their jobs?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?!" 

— Valentin Chmerkovskiy

"The mayor is apparently in Ghana," she wrote. "The fire departments budget was apparently cut by 17 mil. And someone made the decision to not refill some of the reservoirs - now some fire hydrants are dry. Leadership in California is beyond negligent. This is completely unacceptable."

In another post, Michaels continued, "California governor @GavinNewsom issues a press release admitting they knew about the insane fire risk this past Sunday because he was propositioning fire engines. And yet, he just called in the national guard a few hours ago. Pacific Palisades ran out of water at 3am. I’m so so upset for the people of California. My family who stayed. My lifelong friends who live there. Our brave firefighters. This is not a partisan issue it’s pure incompetence and misprioritization."

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Sarah Michelle Gellar and professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy criticized leadership response to the L.A. fires. (Instagram)

James Woods, who lost his home Tuesday in the Palisades Fire, wrote on X that the blaze wasn't from "climate change" but due to "liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass."

ACTOR STEVE GUTTENBERG HELPS PALISADES FIRE FIRST RESPONDERS AS FLAMES RAGE, 'IT'S A GHOST TOWN'

"One doesn't understand the first thing about fire management and the other can't fill the water reservoirs," he added. Woods posted throughout the day as he prepared to evacuate his home, and he later gave fans a somber update that he had lost his house in the Pacific Palisades.

Steve Guttenberg sprang into action to help firefighters and moved cars stranded on Sunset Boulevard by residents fleeing the fire, he exclusively told Fox News Digital. "It's kind of like Zombieland, you know, there's all these abandoned cars all over the street."

Los Angeles Fire Department officials confirmed the Palisades Fire broke out after 11 a.m. near the southeast side of Palisades Drive. Evacuation orders were issued as the blaze grew to approximately 200 acres in size.

Vehicles are abandoned on the road after occupants got stuck in traffic while evacuating. (Getty Images)

Guttenberg – known for his roles in "Police Academy" and "Three Men and a Baby" – urged people who were leaving their vehicles behind while evacuating to also leave their keys so crews could make their way through to the fire.

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"What people do is that they abandon their cars, and it's a crisis, and they don't leave their keys in their cars," Guttenberg told Fox News Digital. "What happens is, the fire trucks can't get up the street because they have all these abandoned cars with no ability to move them. So what I was doing was helping out move cars and put them up on the hill and clear the way for the fire department."

"I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town."

— Steve Guttenberg

Guttenberg noted the blaze was "the biggest fire that we've ever seen in the Palisades. It's enormous."

"We've had small fires, but this is definitely the biggest one, and it's just burning out of control in certain areas," he said. "I was able to make it up here, sort of a pocket where there is no fire. So everybody's safe, and I just wanted to see what I can do to help out some of my neighbors, but it's a ghost town. Everybody's gone. And I think that's what's important. That's what it should be in a big fire like this."

WATCH: Steve Guttenberg recalls helping fire crews during the Palisades fire.

Cars are pictured in the aftermath of a Pacific Palisades inferno on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTTV)

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt and wife Heidi Montag lost their home in the Palisades Fire, they confirmed on their Snapchat accounts Tuesday. In a series of videos, "The Hills" star showed how the fire quickly moved over the hill toward their property.

"Well, this isn't looking good," Pratt said while videoing the fire on the mountain behind their home. "First time I've seen the flames coming over. Aw, man. OK, I'm going to go pack up, I think."

WATCH: Actor James Woods says 'it's possible' his house is still standing

He later posted a video from his car stating that he was watching their home burn down on their security cameras. Pratt shared a photo of his kid's room, saying it had burned in the shape of a heart.

An airtanker makes a drop on the Palisades Fire. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Spencer Pratt shared imagery from inside his home, captured by security cameras. (Spencer Pratt Snapchat)

Chris Pratt offered prayers to evacuees and those who weren't able to leave the fires. (Rodin Eckenroth/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

Chris Pratt posted on X and asked that people join him in praying for "the brave firefighters sacrificing so much to save our houses and our town."

"Jesus protect the lives of those battling the flames and the lives of those who couldn’t evacuate," he wrote.

Former Food Network personality Sandra Lee shared a carousel of imagery from around Malibu on Tuesday before revealing Wednesday morning that she had lost her home.

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"Good morning, thank you for all your well-wishes. I'm at a hotel. I don't have a home anymore, my house is gone. It's literally gone," she said. "I've been crying all night. Thank God everybody is safe. 

"I don't know what to say, I don't know how to compartmentalize this, I don't know what to do … all my stuff, all the last five years of my life. So, the only thing I can do is go to work, and I'm going to go to work today like I go to work every day. And I'm going to rebuild it, I think. I don't know how."

Tracy Wright is an entertainment reporter for Fox News Digital. Send story tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..