Ottawa rapper Khalid Omar, who performs below the title TwoTiime, was compelled to evacuate his Calabasas condominium as wildfires tore by means of the Los Angeles space this week, leaving the studio the place he data in ruins.
The 23-year-old says he awoke Thursday to a nightmarish scene because the Kenneth hearth started spreading by means of the West Hills, fanned by robust Santa Ana winds.
“It was wanting like hell on earth, I’m not gonna deceive you,” he stated Friday in a telephone name.
“There was smoke all up within the air. The sky was pink and brown. I believed it was judgment day.”
After an evacuation warning was issued, Omar says he fled his residence and the thick smoke blanketing the realm. He’s at the moment dwelling in an Airbnb in downtown L.A.
The rapper says the studio he data at, a small area within the Palisades belonging to his sound engineer Jeffrey Wright, was razed Wednesday as flames ravaged the realm.
“I’m tremendous unhappy about that,” says Omar, who moved to L.A. final yr after signing with ODA Data, owned by Chicago rapper Polo G.
“That’s the primary studio I file at. That was like a protected haven for me.”
He stated the area was a useful useful resource, particularly since studio time in L.A. is dear.
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“Issues are fairly irritating proper now with the town burning down. I believe everybody’s being affected by it.”
Omar is one in every of a number of Canadian artists working in L.A. who’ve been displaced by the wildfires, which started Tuesday.
Officers say the fast-moving inferno has killed at the very least 10 individuals, destroyed greater than 10,000 buildings and compelled 1000’s to evacuate.
By Friday afternoon, the ferocious fire-stoking winds had calmed down, however the two largest blazes – the Palisades hearth and Eaton hearth have been nonetheless largely uncontained.
New Brunswick-born tv presenter Mary Kitchen says her household fled their Westwood residence on Wednesday as a result of the air high quality of their neighbourhood was insufferable.
“It was simply so smoggy,” she recalled Friday. “We’re simply east of the Palisades and the smoke clouds hanging over the realm actually seemed like a bomb had gone off. The sky was black and pink.”
She described an eerie view of “carcasses of vehicles and components and timber” as she drove out of the realm together with her partner and three youngsters.
Kitchen stated the Palisades is “a particular group” that’s very tightknit.
“That group is totally gone now. The espresso retailers, the church buildings, the colleges are all now gone. It’s so unhappy.”
Her household has been staying at a resort in Newport ready for the state of affairs to enhance. She wasn’t certain what the state of their residence was.
She stated she’s needed to put a number of work engagements on maintain.
“All the award exhibits are most likely going to be affected and principally canceled. I don’t assume any of that’s going to be occurring for the following few months,” stated Kitchen, who moved to L.A. in 2007.
Kitchen stated she’s dissatisfied to see social media customers saying they don’t have any sympathy for many who misplaced residence to the wildfires as a result of they stay in prosperous areas.
“It’s not simply wealthy celebrities which might be affected. I believe the typical working particular person’s lives are going to be fully modified from all of the devastation,” she stated.
Montreal-born actor Elias Toufexis, identified for his position on “Star Trek: Discovery,” was compelled to evacuate his Calabasas residence along with his household on Wednesday as spot fires ignited on the prime of his avenue.
He confused that many actors in L.A. are “simply working individuals” dwelling paycheque to paycheque.
Toufexis, who additionally does online game voiceover work, stated issues have been hectic since he moved to the town in 2019.
“A yr after I moved right here, COVID began. After which there was a Hollywood strike. After which there was a online game strike. And now there’s a large hearth.”
Amongst different Canadian entertainers impacted by the fires are Eugene Levy and Cobie Smulders, whose properties have been reportedly misplaced, and cleaning soap star Cameron Mathison, who posted footage of the scorched stays of his residence.
Canada-born music producer Greg Wells, who most just lately labored on the “Depraved” soundtrack, shared an Instagram picture Thursday of the charred lot the place his residence used to face.
Kitchen stated she’s “completely” been contemplating a transfer again to Canada.
“I believe lots of people will go away. I’m simply unsure what’s going to occur to our infrastructure. It’s simply going to take so a few years to rebuild right here.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
