The city of Los Angeles, California has descended into chaos as a series of wildfires are raging there. This has impacted countless celebrities, with many of them already losing their homes to the fires.
One such celebrity who has lost his home is the Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall Jr. He’s now speaking to reveal that he lost everything he has in the wildfires. Sadly, this includes his ten Olympic medals, five of which were gold.
Hall Recalls Wildfire
Hall, 50, told The Sydney Morning Herald that he was on the phone with his daughter when he saw a “plume of smoke” coming from his backyard.
“I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time,” he recalled. “Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.”
The wildfire spread so fast that Hall could only grab some essentials, including his dog and a few personal items, before fleeing. The Pacific Palisades home that Hall had been renting ended up burning to the ground. Hall’s Olympic medals, consisting of five gold, three silver and two bronze, burned with the home.
Hall Couldn’t Grab His Medals Before Fleeing
“I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them,” Hall explained. “Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?”
Hall went on to describe the scene as being “worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1000 times worse.” Losing his home was particularly devastating for Hall, as he ran a business from there teaching kids to swim. All Hall can do now is hope that some of his medals miraculously survived the fire.
“It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood,” he admitted. “I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.”
Though he will miss his Olympic medals dearly, Hall is just grateful to have escaped with his life. Listen to him talk more about this in the video below.
Related: NFL Makes Contingency Plan If Rams-Vikings Playoff Game Can’t Be Played In Fire-Ravaged LA
Other Celebrities Lose Their Homes
Hall is sadly far from the only celebrity to lose his home to these wildfires. Others who have seen their homes burn to the ground this week include James Woods, Anna Faris, and Paris Hilton. Celebrity couples Leighton Meester and Adam Brody and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have lost their homes as well.
Woods couldn’t help but break down in tears as he talked about his house burning to the ground.
“One day you’re swimming in the pool and the next day it’s all gone,” Woods, 77, told CNN.
“I thought I would be stronger than this,” Woods added as he wiped tears from his eyes.
Watch Woods talk more about this in the video below.
While Hall’s Olympic medals are irreplaceable, we’re just glad that he’s alive. Please join us in saying a prayer for Hall, Woods, and everyone else who has been impacted by these devastating wildfires.
More about:Athletics News
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