Former Bond Girl flees Californian wildfires 'just in time'
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British actress Jane Seymour has said she left her home "just in time" with flames "right up to my house" as fast-moving wildfires ripped through Malibu, California. The 73-year-old star said she left with just the clothes she was wearing and has been sleeping elsewhere since the blaze started on Monday evening.
Seymour said her "whole house smells of smoke" when she returned home three days later. Speaking on the red carpet of the British American Business Council (BABC) annual Christmas luncheon, she said: "I just literally had jeans and a sweater, which I've been wearing for four days and sleeping at different people's houses.
"On Monday night, at 10.50pm, we got a call from my partner, John Zambetti's son Johnny, who was in Serra Retreat. "[He] saw a glow behind the curtains, opened the windows, saw 10ft flames, and called us immediately and said, 'Get out. Get out'. "We all got out just in time because of that.".
Thousands of people in the upmarket city have been forced to evacuate, with fellow stars including Dick Van Dyke and Cher also fleeing the area. The latest update from the City of Malibu confirmed more than 4,000 acres burned during the wind-driven wildfire named the Franklin Fire by authorities, with 14 buildings destroyed and 13 damaged.
Honoured with the BABC LA icon award at the Los Angeles event, Seymour said: "This is a huge honour, and after the week that we've had with the fires coming right up to my house, I couldn't even conceive of putting clothes on, let alone being able to come and talk to anyone about anything.".
