Heidi Montag broke down in tears in a new video speaking about the destruction of her Pacific Palisades home caused by the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
Montag, who shares two sons with husband Spencer Pratt, is among the many celebrities including Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton to lose their homes in the blaze.
Montag turned to her Instagram Story on Wednesday (January 8) where she recalled frantically sorting through her possessions as the flames encroached on their property.
“Craziest thing when you’re packing for a fire is that your brain just freaks out, like ‘’What do I need? What do I not need?’” her video began. “Packing up the house, I mean I only have two pairs of jeans, two shirts, I’ve got so much more clothes for the kids, but why didn’t I grab more?
“Thankfully I grabbed anything, which is a blessing, and the main thing is that we’re safe and got out, but oh my gosh it’s really like panic, and then a part of you wants to leave stuff, and like ‘I’m coming back! Of course, I’m coming back!’” she said.
Montag said she felt lucky to be able to grab anything from her home before evacuating (TikTok/@heidimontag)
She then became emotional as she shared her support for anyone else who has been affected by the wildfires.
“So just praying for everyone else who’s going through this, and all my friends and loved ones, and just thank god we have our health and our children,” Montag said. “I know that and that’s just trying to focus on the gratitude. It just kind of comes in waves, it’s a lot.”
The Palisades fire, now one of the most destructive in LA history, is burning more than 17,200 acres, while the Eaton fire has scorched some 10,600 acres. The Sunset fire in Hollywood has engulfed 60 acres. All three fires are at zero percent containment.
An estimated 2,000 buildings have been scorched and 130,000 residents ordered to evacuate, including more than 60,000 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. More than 330,000 people are without power throughout the region, according to PowerOutage.us.
On Thursday (January 9,) California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed that more than 7,500 firefighting personnel and almost 1,200 fire trucks have been deployed across Southern California. He also thanked President Joe Biden, who announced the approval of a major disaster declaration and ordered federal assistance to bolster response efforts.
Montag and her husband first documented their experience with the fire on Tuesday when Pratt shared a video on his Instagram Story hours before having to evacuate his home, in which an aerial firefighter vehicle was seen in the distance flying ahead dumping water on the nearby mountains to try to contain the blaze.
In another video shared on TikTok, Pratt showed that a blaze was happening behind their house, and told the camera: “We’ve got a fire going on behind the house. Say a prayer for the Palisades here. Okay, I should go and start packing up the house.”
In a third video, Pratt showed the blaze growing closer, and captioned the post: “Nightmare came true.”
