Dick Van Dyke describes the “exhausting” escape from the Malibu wildfires

Dick Van Dyke reflects on his lucky escape from the wildfires in Malibu, California.

The screen legend, who turns 99 on Friday, December 13, told a local news outlet that his neighbors “saved” him.

“It came from the hill, you could see it,” he said Mary Poppins star said in an interview that aired on the Today Show, Thursday, December 12th. “And oh my God, and we got out of here. I tried to crawl to the car, I was exhausted, I couldn’t get up.”

Van Dyke then shared that it was his neighbors who saved him. “Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a small fire in the guest house and saved me.”

The legendary actor was captured on footage captured by his own Ring Doorbell camera as he evacuated his property alongside his wife Arlene Silver and their pets.

On Tuesday, December 10, the star had assured fans that he had escaped the fire in a post shared on Facebook.

“Arlene and I evacuated safely,” he wrote, adding that one of their pets went missing during the event.

“Bobo escaped as we were leaving,” he wrote. “We pray that he is well and that our community at Serra Retreat survives these terrible fires.”

Later that day, he shared a video of Bobo with the caption: “I hope Bobo is okay.” But Bobo’s story has a happy ending as the father of four posted on Thursday, December 12, in a follow-up Facebook post -Post revealed that the orange cat had been found.

“We found Bobo when we got back home this morning. Interest in his disappearance was so great that animal control authorities were called to help. But luckily he was easy to find and unharmed,” he wrote alongside a love heart emoji.

Van Dyke is one of tens of thousands of people who had to be evacuated from the Malibu area following the Franklin Fire, which broke out on Monday, December 9th.

Other famous faces who also had to leave their homes include legendary singer Cher, 78.

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“Cher had to vacate her house and did so in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” a rep for the pop star subsequently told PEOPLE The New York Times reported the news on December 10th. “Luckily she’s safe.”

On Tuesday, December 10, actress Mira Sorvino also announced that she was evacuated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“To all my Malibu friends and neighbors, I pray that you are safe. We were evacuated in the middle of the night, children and pets were all with us! Scary times!!” The Romy and Michele’s high school reunion Star, 57, wrote.