Don Cheadle Opens Up About Evacuating During L.A. Fires: 'Definitely Too Close'

Mar. 15, 2025

Don Cheadle in 2024.Photo:Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Speaking withJimmy Kimmelduring his Monday, Jan. 20 appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!, theUnstoppablestar, 60, revealed that he and his loved ones “had to evacuate” as the fires approached. “We were about five, six blocks from where it was,” he said.

As Kimmel, 57, noted, “That’s too close.”

Like many Los Angeles residents in recent weeks, Cheadle has not yet moved back into his residence. “We are still out of the house,” he said. “I just went back today to make sure that everything was everything. We have electricity now.”

His family’s evacuation involved “bopping around in hotels,” he continued. “We went in one hotel and that one got evacuated. Then we were at another hotel and they were like, ‘How long are you going to be here? ’Cuz we got a lot of people. So can you please leave?’ So we left.”

Don Cheadle on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!".Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

Now, the Oscar nominee revealed they’re staying at “a friend’s house who kindly let us stay in his kids’ room. So waking up to the Billie Eilish poster on the wall is really nice.”

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Cheadle, has beenmarriedto longtimeBridgid Coultersince the COVID-19 pandemic, counts a starry group of friends among his social circle, as he told Kimmel:George Lopez,Cedric the Entertainer, D. L. Hughley, Chris Spencer andAnthony Andersonall interact on a text thread together.

As the fires grew closer, Anderson, 54, “waited until the last second to get out of dodge” from the L.A. fires, Cheadle said, recalling urging his friend go. “It was bananas.”

After Kimmel played a clip of a teenaged Cheadle scatting with his high school choir, the actor ended his segment with an improvised scat session into a microphone for the audience.

Cheadle plays a wrestling coach inUnstoppable, based on the real-life story ofAnthony Robles, starringJharrel JeromeandJennifer Lopez. The sports biopic is now streaming on Prime Video.

As of Monday, Jan. 20, at least 27 people have died and over 30,000 L.A. residents have been displaced amid the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, according toABC News. Fire containment has increased, although strong Santa Ana winds are expected in the area from Monday through Wednesday, Jan. 22, the outlet reported.

source: people.com