Doctor Strange director shares photos of home burned in Woolsey Fire
Scott Derrickson thanks California firefighters for saving the rest of his neighborhood.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Scott Derrickson, who directed the 2016 Marvel superhero film Doctor Strange, lost his home in the Southern California wildfire known as the Woolsey Fire, sharing photos of the smoldering ruins on Twitter on Friday and Saturday.
"We lost our home, but we are all safe and that's the important thing," Derrickson wrote.
We lost our home, but we are all safe and that’s the important thing. Gonna be offline for awhile.
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) November 9, 2018
The director also thanked those who'd offered him love, support and a place to stay. Losing so many material possessions wasn't as hard for him as for his sons, he noted.
"But this loss and whipsaw change will become a source of growth for all of us," Derrickson wrote.
Just a quick update to say that I’m overwhelmed by the incredible outpouring of love and support. Thank you to everyone who messaged me, and for the dozens upon dozens of you who offered us a place to stay. We are blessed and grateful to be safe and so loved. 🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/5i4InDTs8S
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) November 10, 2018
I’m not trying to be optimistic about losing literally everything — I’m just not materialistic by nature. To me it’s just stuff. It’s harder for my boys, losing items that have profound memory meaning. But this loss and whipsaw change will become a source of growth for all of us.
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) November 11, 2018
He later shared a friend's stunning photo of a lone firefighter standing inside the ruins of Derrickson's burned-down home, on watch to protect the surrounding homes.
"The interior is cooked but the sole fireman needs to ensure that other homes in my neighborhood don't catch fire," he wrote. "Thank God and this firefighter, they didn't."
A friend drove to my home while it was smoldering and took this mesmerizing pic. The interior is cooked but the sole fireman needs to ensure that other homes in my neighborhood don’t catch fire.
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) November 11, 2018
Thank God and this firefighter, they didn’t. pic.twitter.com/lXhTZQvYsq
Other Hollywood figures also explained how they were affected by the fire. Rainn Wilson, who starred as Dwight Schrute in The Office, shared a photo of smoke billowing around his Los Angeles-area neighborhood. Wilson later posted a video showing that his home was spared "by a dozen yards."
My house is in that. #WoolseyFire pic.twitter.com/dNLhcpiD38
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) November 9, 2018
Thank for your Twitter love. We are safe and sound (oversees), our animals were rescued and our house (barely) spared. The fire roared down the creek bed behind our house and missed it by a dozen yards! pic.twitter.com/pHkkqFHuIH
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) November 10, 2018
The Western Town sets at Paramount Ranch, featured in HBO's Westworld and the 1990s drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women, among other shows and films, were destroyed by the fast-moving fire.
NEW: Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, Calif., the historic Western town area at where productions including "Westworld" have filmed, burned down Friday in the #WoolseyFire, according to @SantaMonicaMtns https://t.co/M3JzL4R9jT pic.twitter.com/0LfRCsV3jz
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 9, 2018
Director Guillermo del Toro's home, which he calls Bleak House and which houses a collection of 700 pieces of art, survived the fire, del Toro wrote on Twitter. He said he put out a small brush fire near the home using mineral water he had in his car.
As of late yesterday, Bleak House was still standing. We drove through backstreets for almost 2 hors to get there and retrieve my notebooks and a small suitcase with 2 photos, 5 books and few small things- then drove back to Los Angeles through said streets for about 1 h 40 mns.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 10, 2018
We put out a small bush that was on fire using water I had in the car.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 10, 2018
On Friday, actor Charlie Sheen tweeted that he couldn't get in touch with his parents, Janet and Martin Sheen. California news station FOX 11 later located the Sheens at Malibu's Zuma Beach. Martin Sheen told the station he and his wife had evacuated that morning and believed their house was likely destroyed.
i cannot
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) November 10, 2018
get ahold of
my parents,
Martin and Janet Sheen.
they
are in the
group, at the
staging ground
near Zuma Beach.
if
anyone
has eyes on
them,
please let me
know that they
are safe and sound
in the middle of
this horrific scenario.
thank you
in advance.
xox
©️
""We've been here since 1970 in Malibu, and we have been through a couple of (fires), but I've never seen one like this, with this intensity, for this long, took out so much property and caused such havoc," Martin Sheen told the station.
As of Saturday night, the Woolsey fire was just 5 percent contained, CBS Los Angeles reported, with that number increasing by Sunday morning. (CBS is the parent company of CNET.) However, strong Santa Winds were expected to return on Sunday afternoon and stay through Tuesday, which could make conditions more difficult for firefighters.
CNET's Gift Guide: The best place to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list this season.
CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition.