Palisades high school featured in “Carrie”, “Freaky Friday”, and more Hollywood movies damaged by L.A. wildfire

Palisades Charter High School, a popular filming location for Hollywood productions that also boasts such famous alumni as Forest Whitaker, J.J. Abrams, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, has been damaged by the devastating wildfires ravaging Los Angeles.

Local news reports and social media videos emerged Tuesday night showing the Palisades fire spreading through multiple structures of the campus, as well as the nearby Palisades Charter Elementary School. A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday that the campus had sustained "significant" damages from the fire.

"We are currently working with local authorities and emergency response teams to assess the situation and determine next steps," the spokesperson said. "The district will work with appropriate agencies to secure funding relief for any school impacted by the extreme weather."

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 15,000 acres were burning in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent L.A. neighborhood nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and the fire was 0% contained.

The school known colloquially was Pali High had been slated to begin its spring semester Jan. 14 but is currently closed. A message posted to the school's website said advised students and families to "avoid the area and adhere to all evacuation orders."

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Notable movies and television shows that have filmed at Pali include the 2003 version of Freaky Friday (starring Jamie Lee Curtis, one of many stars to be impacted by the fires), Brian De Palma's 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, the 2012 party comedy Project X, and the MTV series Teen Wolf.

Along with Whitaker, Abrams, and Leigh, notable alums include Katey Sagal, Will.i.am, and Steve Kerr.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency across Los Angeles, stating on social media late Tuesday that mutual aid was pouring in from across the state. In addition to the Palisades fire, other blazes rage across L.A., such as the Eaton fire affecting Altadena and Pasadena and the Hurst fire affecting Sylmar. "Hundreds of additional firefighters are headed south to join 1,400+ boots already on the ground," Newsom wrote on Threads.

More than 30,000 Angelenos have evacuated their homes and communities, including a number of Hollywood stars. Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore, James Woods, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, and Maria Shriver have all shared social media posts documenting the devastation.

And it does not get any more L.A. than Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby actor Steve Guttenberg going viral for spontaneously appearing on a KTLA news segment Tuesday, in which he urged those who abandoned their vehicles on the streets amid evacuations to leave their keys in their cars so they could be easily moved to make way for emergency responders.

Related: Spencer Pratt reveals his and wife Heidi's home was destroyed in Los Angeles wildfire: 'Nightmare came true'

Guttenberg, who said on the segment that he had friends trapped in their communities due to the congestion of abandoned cars, was in the process of moving vehicles during the segment.

"The fire got so close and everybody was trying to get out that it became sort of a little bit of a panic," Guttenberg told Entertainment Weekly Tuesday. "I just started moving cars."

He also relayed a message of togetherness: "In a crisis, always remember that you're part of a community. And if you're able-bodied, you've got to help. You can't walk by somebody when they need something. You just can't walk by them. You have to help them. There are a lot of people who need help. Some people are so scared. Some people are in wheelchairs, some people are old or infirm, and you need to help them, and you can't just walk by."

[This article has been updated with information from an LAUSD spokesperson.]

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