The current wildfires raging in Los Angeles are being called the most destructive in LA history. Acres and acres of land, thousands of homes and businesses, all up in flames. Celebrities haven’t gotten special treatment either. Mandy Moore, Diane Warren, Paris Hilton and many other celebrities have lost their homes (or their second homes) in the fires. I saw that Harrison Ford had a police escort to check on what was left of his home too, although I don’t know if his house burned down. Meanwhile, it looks like Ben Affleck had to flee his new home in the Palisades. Throughout 2024, there was a lot of real estate drama between Ben and Jennifer Lopez. They bought a home together but Ben decided he hated it, and he moved out in the spring. He rented a house in Brentwood close to Jennifer Garner, then he ended up purchasing a $20 million Pacific Palisades home as his new bachelor pad. According to TMZ, he was forced to evacuate and he raced to Garner’s home.
Ben Affleck was forced to evacuate the shiny new $20.5 million Pacific Palisades, Calif., mansion that he purchased just five months ago as deadly wildfires continued to scorch Los Angeles. The luxurious home, which the Oscar winner snapped up on July, 24, 2024, is situated in the evacuation area, Page Pix can confirm.
Affleck purchased the five-bedroom, six-bathroom abode after separating from his now-ex-wife Jennifer Lopez — a downgrade from their $60 million marital home in Beverly Hills that is currently up for sale. The bachelor pad has gorgeous vaulted ceilings, separate breakfast and dining spaces and a media room, while the lush property boasts a pool, a guesthouse and horse stables.
A source previously claimed the “Good Will Hunting” star, 52, was more than happy to leave his love nest with J.Lo, 55, after they split.
“Ben never liked the house,” the insider shared last June. “It’s too far away from his kids.”
Affleck was photographed fleeing his residence Tuesday and driving to his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s house in nearby Brentwood just hours after the treacherous blaze broke out. He was seen driving in a black SUV as black smoke filled the sky while en route to see the “13 Going on 30” star, also 52, and their three kids: Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 12.
Garner, who was married to Affleck from 2005 to 2018, and their children reportedly have not yet been ordered to evacuate. However, all residents in the area are on standby.
I can’t even imagine spending $20.5 million on a home and five months later, it’s probably just ash and smoke. People are lucky to be getting out with their lives, but the sheer volume of homes and businesses lost is stunning and overwhelming. I hope Garner’s house is okay. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in California too – the destruction is devastating.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Santa Monica, CA – Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were seen arriving separately to celebrate Samuel’s graduation in Santa Monica. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 12 JUNE 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Ben Affleck was seen looking reflective as he left his office following the finalization of his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. The actor appeared deep in thought during the solo outing. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 23 SEPTEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Ben Affleck was seen looking reflective as he left his office following the finalization of his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. The actor appeared deep in thought during the solo outing. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 23 SEPTEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Brentwood, CA – Ben Affleck is spotted grabbing lunch with Gigi Fouquet. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 15 OCTOBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Ben Affleck was seen arriving at the Conrad Hotel, prepared to engage in a scheduled talk. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 13 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Actor Ben Affleck is seen on the set of his upcoming Netflix movie “RIP” enjoying a smoke break. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I know many people have it so much worse, and celebrities are very fortunate in that they likely have the resources to rebuild if necessary. But after seeing Jennifer Garner’s house in the story here a while back, I really, really hope that it is spared, along with as many others as possible!
Losing a home with memories and personal items must be devastating, but celebs will recover just fine. There must be hundreds of families who lost everything in their home that had a mortgage or they put their life’s work into it and now it’s gone. Billy Crystal said something like one day you swim in the pool the next day it’s all gone. Pease, you will have a new pool in a few months, but there are people who have no idea where they will go from the evacuation centers.
That quote was from James Woods, not Billy Crystal. He talked to CNN after losing his home to fire.
My cousin and her various family members live to the east of the Eaton fire, hopefully far enough away that they will remain safe. But she sent us a video yesterday of the aftereffects of the wind going through her area on Tuesday night which brings home the conditions people are dealing with in the LA area.
I don’t know anything about James Woods but there was a lot happening on social media yesterday involving him. Apparently his insurance company cancelled his policy and he claims he lost everything. And yet he was spending time and energy insulting people online who were talking about the role climate change has played in this devastation. He is MAGA and blames the liberals who voted in liberals like Newsom (who according to him doesn’t know anything about fire management) and Karen Bass (who doesn’t know how to fill water reservoirs). *sigh*
I hesitate to get into a pissing contest but I do agree with you. I mean, yes I have sympathy for anyone who loses a home to fire but it helps if you have 5-6 additional residences in other states that you can easily evacuate to.
Serious question (and of course, memories, personal items with sentimental value aside), is it not a requirement from the bank that your property is insured in order for you to have a mortgage? That’s the case in the UK. I understand it’s not easy to rebuild and you would have to live somewhere in the meantime, etc, but… isn’t insurance mandatory?
@TikiChica. Yes, there’s a requirement that you have insurance if you have a mortgage, but a lot of times, the insurance won’t cover the cost of rebuilding. The cost per square foot they calculate doesn’t keep up with inflation generally.
Two caveats:
– In areas like the Palisades and Malibu, there’s a lot of home owners who have lived there for decades. They moved in during the 70’s and 80’s when everything was way more affordable. If they’ve paid off their homes, no insurance.
– The other big issue was that State Farm had literally just cancelled a lot of homeowners insurance the month before. You have a bit of a grace period to get a new insurer, but it’s really hard. I’ve been hearing stories of people who had their insurance cancelled, hadn’t yet found a new insurer, and then this happened.
Thank you for that @elizabeth
The reports I have seen are horrible. I think, Conan O’Brien’s house is also evacuated and from the podcast he talked about living near Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler. The guy just lost both of his parents and now his home. His podcast crew is living in other sides of LA (Altadena and Pasadena). The neighborhoods there are all gone too.
The before and after of the Palisades fire is jaw dropping: so many houses are just GONE.
I’m following the NY Times coverage, and one relatively small article mentioned the traumatic effects of the threat of fire, the stress of evacuation, and then reality of losing a home to fire. Losing personal effects that can’t be replaced-pictures, memorabilia, etc.,-is also traumatic.
No one is “just fine” after that, regardless of their affluence or lack thereof. The people of LA need our compassion, not our judgment.
I also have a stake in this. My son is in SoCal for college (Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo). He’s home here in Seattle but headed south today. The fires won’t come his way-he’s about 120 miles north of LA-but the air quality is going to get very bad very soon.
There are neighborhoods under evacuation orders in Brentwood too. VP Harris’ is under an order. It’s not that far from Pacific Palisades, and although brush is limited, the extreme Santa Ana winds can carry the embers for many miles, then descend on houses.
I live an hour away from the palisades, we are not near any fires thankfully, but it has been devastating to see how quickly the fires destroyed so many homes. The high winds, ash, and air quality are big issues at the moment but nothing compared to what recovery is going to look like.
So does insurance just cover these losses? Do they have to buy special fire insurance in California? I’m just wondering bc I know in florida, where it floods a lot bc of weather, insurance is really pricey and not even always offered (??? I recall my elderly uncle’s insurance informing him they wouldn’t cover him anymore but then he died and I never really heard the end of that), and I would think that with insurance companies being what they are, they would have balked at covering these fires year after year
Insurance prices have been going up in areas of CA where fires have happened frequently and many insurance companies have decided to stop offering coverage in certain areas.
It might only be certain areas now but eventually it will be everywhere–trust. We live on a hill overlooking the ocean in a MA coastal town. We are entirely out of the flood zone but because we are adjacent to an area that gets regularly flooded we are considered adverse selection, must apply to an insurance pool and pay double what the average cost of insurance for other MA property owners.
I work in insurance but my GOD am I sick of the industry in general–just a total effin scam.
@Yup, Me,
That was true, but there’s a new law going into effect this year that requires any insurer that has 10.% of the state customers that they are required to cover at least 8.% of the high fire risk areas. That law goes into effect in about a month. But to all the folks thinking these rich people have fire insurance, many in this area had their policies cancelled a few months ago. The main company cancelling policies was State Farm. So many of these people have literally lost everything and won’t have help rebuilding.
I saw a few aerial images of the Palisades neighborhoods and it’s shocking. Just block after block of ashes and hundreds of homes burned to the ground. It’s so awful.
I went to college in L.A., so I have a number friends who live in the evacuated areas They’re thankfully all safe, but at least two of them have definitely lost their homes. Another friend, who is currently visiting me, showed me the Ring view from her parents’ home as the fire approached. The only way I can describe it is that it looked like a hurricane, but with fire instead of rain. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then the footage abruptly stopped. Destroyed like the rest of it. The speed of it was just unbelievable, I can’t imagine how anyone who didn’t evacuate could possibly escape it now.
Genuine, sincere thoughts and prayers for all of those who are affected by these fires. Stay safe.
I have close family members in both Simi and LA. My cousins in LA are ok but houses all around them have burned to the ground. My aunt and uncle were awake till 4AM yesterday because they anticipated the fires approaching their neighborhood and wanted to be ready to evacuate. Just so horrific and I am thinking of everyone in the affected areas of Cali so much right now. Please be safe,
Affleck does not have 3 children to see at the Garnerhome; isn’t Violet away at school?
Colleges are still on winter break for another week or two. It’s also possible that with a possible evacuation, he is there to help pack up the kids’ things.
My neighbor’s kid goes to Yale; dorms opened this week and classes start Monday. I was in the New Haven IKEA yesterday and it was packed with Yale and U New Haven kids, lol!
It depends on the school. Mine went back at the end last week – classes started on Monday; their best friend was over for dinner last night and goes back on Saturday, their classes start on Monday. Other friends of theirs will go back over the next week or two.
I’d imagine no matter how rich you are, even with multiple homes, there are personal items, memories, etc. that are devastating to lose. I’d also venture many wealthy have staff who lived on/in who are now homeless.
What has somewhat amazed me is hearing the value of some of the homes than seeing pics of them, ie a small bungalow for $2 million or more? I live in New England and thought house prices here were crazy.
One of my coworkers was on the phone with her 20-something daughter off and on all day yesterday. The daughter is a personal chef in Palisades – her biggest client lost their home and her apartment was in a “prepare to evacuate” area. My coworker was trying to convince her daughter to pack whatever she could in her car, drive to Nevada, leave her car at her aunt’s house there, and fly home to Mom & Dad. My co-worker was visiting her daughter in CA last week – she is devastated.
It’s heartbreaking seeing so many people’s entire livelihood, their inheritances, the homes they worked so hard to pay off or are upside down in just gone. I think a lot of people have the misconception that Californians are all Mariah Carey rich. They aren’t. Some people this is their only home. And as someone brought up, there are businesses, hired help, all those people are jobless now and some of them lived on the properties – they are now homeless. Remember Sydney Sweeney a while back talking about how she is worried about her mortgage she works constantly and she is worried about paying it off. Even those who did have insurance to cover won’t recover the cost to rebuild.
I hope Jennifer Gardner’s home is still there. I don’t know why but I’m attached to it which is weird. But I’m happy for her and I want her to have that house. I love that house and her joy showing it to AD was palpable.
Some Californians have been in their homes since the 40s, 50s, and some of the homes are historic. People lost pets (there’s a reddit thread about a woman looking for her cat she was away when the fires broke out) Some items are replaceable and some others, like art, old photographs, etc. are not. Also, the people who work construction and are experts in framing, building, etc. are worried about deportation. A much needed labor source is constantly vilified and dehumanized by the incoming regime.
I haven’t gotten to the fire fighters and everyone who are breathing in these toxins – the air quality in the coming months – I can’t wrap my head around what is going to happen. The scene is apocalyptic and haunting.
2025 is such a shitshow and it’s only January. I’m honestly terrified.
Last year I had a housefire, confined to one room only. It gutted the room and spread acrid black smoke throughout the entirety of the house.
The structure itself remained intact, but I had to move out for a year for the remediation, the cost is at about $400k.
I am fortunate, all souls, including my doggos, are safe. I lost very little of personal value. The terror of the incident remains with us, standing on the sidewalk wondering if I was about to watch my house burn to the ground, remains with me.
My situation pales in comparison to the hellscape of LA and previously in Hawaii. It is a time to reach out a hand, offer a bed or a meal, share human comfort and healing. This is a thing that will cause devastation for decades to come.
It was terrible seeing these homes reduced to rubble. These are people’s homes regardless of their professions.
I just heard on the news that some of those people may just relocate, instead of re- building. I can’t imagine finding out that your home insurance has been cancelled.
Also, I believe I read that the mayor cut 17.5 million out of the fire department. I can’t image how exhausted those firemen are operating on less staff!
The Mountain Fire in Ventura County on Nov. 6, 2024 took out many homes and businesses. The State of California Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara authored Senate Bill 824 (2018). This important consumer protection law requires a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies canceling or non-renewing residential insurance policies in certain areas within or adjacent to a fire perimeter after a declared state of emergency is issued by the Governor.
“Losing your insurance should be the last thing on someone’s mind after surviving a devastating fire,” said Commissioner Lara. “This law gives millions of Californians breathing room and hits the pause button on insurance non-renewals while people recover.”
Thankfully that is in place for the fires that are ravaging Los Angeles area and beyond this January 2025.
My cousin lived in Altadena, she and her family lost everything. They were told to evacuate with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. I talked with her yesterday she had lived in her home for 58;years. I am glad that they are giving more attention to the ordinary people. Altadena is a predominantly black community, one of the first that blacks could buy homes because of redlining.