Steve Guttenberg would like you to leave your keys in your car amid L.A. fires

Los Angeles has been battered by intense winds today, creating a combustible situation for L.A.’s fire-ready landscape. Throughout the day, a brush fire has spread in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent L.A. neighborhood north of Santa Monica, endangering lives, destroying property, and prompting an evacuation order. As a result, many residents are abandoning their Teslas and Mercedes in the streets, making it difficult for fire trucks to get through and extinguish the blaze. Thankfully, that neighborhood has people like Steve Guttenberg in it. Appearing on KTLA, a local Los Angeles news channel, Guttenberg surprised reporter Gene Kang, who came upon Guttenberg as he cleared the road.

“What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot,” Guttenberg said. “This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars. If you leave your car behind, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there.”

Wiping the smoke and dust from his eyes, Guttenberg pleaded with viewers to heed his request. The fire’s quick spread has congested roadways and trapped residents at the top of the roadway. Guttenberg notes that he, too, has friends in the area who can’t get out, so he’s doing what he can: Moving cars. If drivers do not move those cars, a bulldozer will move the vehicles for them.

“There are families up there. There are pets up there. There are people who really need help,” he continued after confirming that he was, in fact, the Steve Guttenberg. “We’ve got a huge fire up there. We’ve got huge winds, and it’s really important for people to help each other. It’s really important for everybody to band together and don’t worry about your personal property. Just get out.”