Don Cheadle Opens Up About Evacuating During L.A. Fires: 'Definitely Too Close'

Don Cheadle and his family were among those impacted by the devastating Los Angeles fires that began on Jan. 7.

Speaking with Jimmy Kimmel during his Monday, Jan. 20 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Unstoppable star, 60, revealed that he and his loved ones “had to evacuate” as the fires approached. “We were about five, six blocks from where it was,” he said.

As Kimmel, 57, noted, “That’s too close.”

Like many Los Angeles residents in recent weeks, Cheadle has not yet moved back into his residence. “We are still out of the house,” he said. “I just went back today to make sure that everything was everything. We have electricity now.”

Related: Celebrities Who Have Lost Homes in the Los Angeles Fires, and What They've Said

His family’s evacuation involved “bopping around in hotels,” he continued. “We went in one hotel and that one got evacuated. Then we were at another hotel and they were like, ‘How long are you going to be here? ’Cuz we got a lot of people. So can you please leave?’ So we left.”

Now, the Oscar nominee revealed they’re staying at “a friend’s house who kindly let us stay in his kids’ room. So waking up to the Billie Eilish poster on the wall is really nice.”

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Cheadle, has been married to longtime Bridgid Coulter since the COVID-19 pandemic, counts a starry group of friends among his social circle, as he told Kimmel: George Lopez, Cedric the Entertainer, D. L. Hughley, Chris Spencer and Anthony Anderson all interact on a text thread together.

As the fires grew closer, Anderson, 54, "waited until the last second to get out of dodge” from the L.A. fires, Cheadle said, recalling urging his friend go. "It was bananas."

Related: Don Cheadle Jokes About Why He Finally Married Longtime Love After 28 Years: 'Our Accountant'

After Kimmel played a clip of a teenaged Cheadle scatting with his high school choir, the actor ended his segment with an improvised scat session into a microphone for the audience.

Cheadle plays a wrestling coach in Unstoppable, based on the real-life story of Anthony Robles, starring Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez. The sports biopic is now streaming on Prime Video.

As of Monday, Jan. 20, at least 27 people have died and over 30,000 L.A. residents have been displaced amid the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, according to ABC News. Fire containment has increased, although strong Santa Ana winds are expected in the area from Monday through Wednesday, Jan. 22, the outlet reported.

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