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Neighbors Had to Carry Dick Van Dyke to Safety as Wildfire Approached

The 98-year-old actor also gave a status update on his missing cat Bobo.

National treasure Dick Van Dyke revealed in an interview with the Today Show that his neighbors saved him while he was trying to evacuate from his Malibu home during this week’s Franklin Fire.

The wildfire burned more than 2,800 acres in the area, leading to mass evacuations and power outages. Like many in Malibu, Van Dyke, 98, had to flee his home along with his wife, Arlene Silver, and their pets.

“It was coming from the hill, you could see it,” the Hollywood legend told Today. “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.”

On Dec. 10, the actor updated fans on Facebook, noting that he and his wife safely made it out but that they had lost one of their pets, their cat named Bobo, while they were evacuating.

Fortunately, Van Dyke shared an update on Bobo Thursday, writing on Facebook that the missing feline had been found.

“We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning,” Van Dyke shared. “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.”

An estimated 2,000 people were put under an evacuation order the day the fires erupted on Tuesday, including other celebrities like Cher and Barbra Streisand. Van Dyke evacuated his home in the Serra Retreat neighborhood just three days before his 99th birthday.

Yasmeen HamadehNight News Reporter

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