Hollywood veteran Dick Van Dyke says he was “saved” from the Malibu wildfires. According to the Mary Poppins icon, his neighbors personally dragged Van Dyke to safety while he was trying to make it to his car but was unable to get back onto his feet.
Earlier this week, Van Dyke also gave further details on his and his family’s escape from the encroaching fires. Their hasty departure required rounding up their beloved pets, most of whom they successfully brought with them out of harm’s way, except for their beloved cat, Bobo. However, it turns out Bobo’s nine lives are thankfully doing just fine.
Dick Van Dyke recounts being “saved” from Malibu wildfires just ahead of his 99th birthday
In an interview on Today, Van Dyke recounted the difficult evacuation he and his family endured while fleeing this week’s Franklin Fire, which caused massive power outages across Malibu and ultimately burned 2,600 acres. Just before his December 13th birthday, Van Dyke and his family were among the mass exodus fleeing the wildfire with some much-needed help from neighbors that seemingly made all the difference between life and death.
“It was coming from the hill, you could see it,” recalled Van Dyke. “And oh my God. We got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up. Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me.”
Turmoil on multiple fronts
Van Dyke evacuated along with his wife, 53-year-old Arlene Silver. The couple also hastened to bring their pets out of harm’s way. However, Van Dyke, shared on social media, they had trouble securing their cat Bobo.
“Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving,” he shared. “We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Fortunately, Bobo was able to stay out of harm’s way. “We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning,” Van Dyke happily updated in a Facebook post shared on December 12, just before his 99th birthday. “There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”
