Cameron Mathison Says He Lost 'Everything' in L.A. Fire: 'Would've Grabbed So Much More'

Cameron Mathison opens up about his great loss in the LA fires.

The All My Children alum, 55, spoke with Party tonight on Wednesday, Jan. 9, explaining how he and his family escaped the Eaton fire, which burned their home earlier this week. When they were forced to evacuate, he said he “didn’t really believe” he would lose everything, so he only took passports, birth certificates and a few photo albums.

“Unfortunately, I left some valuable ones where the kids were very, very young and film that you can’t replace,” he said, adding, “If I really thought the house was going to collapse, I would have grabbed a lot more. ”

Celebrities who lost their homes or had to evacuate due to the Los Angeles fire and what they said

(L-R) Cameron Mathison, Lucas Mathison and Leila Mathison.

Cameron Mathison/Instagram

Just a few hours earlier, he had been out to dinner when his ex-wife, Vanessa, called him to say they had to evacuate. They went to an apartment they own in the nearby Pasadena area and were told the next morning that their home had failed.

“[Vanessa] she woke me up at 5 in the morning, because she was up almost all night watching the news and heard that the street above our street….the reporters were literally on our block on TV,” Cameron recalled. “We’re sitting on the couch, watching the news, recognizing the houses around our house burned, but I couldn’t see our house.”

“I was just sitting there, it was probably 6 in the morning and I had to go upstairs,” he continued, saying he bought a mask and goggles before going to his neighborhood. “It looked like a war zone.”

Although he had some “hope” that their house would be okay, he quickly realized that it wasn’t.

“Everything is gone,” he revealed. “It was really, really decimated. There’s nothing there. Less than nothing. It’s just all burned to ashes.”

How to help the victims of the fire in Los Angeles

(L-R) Cameron Mathison; his home in California.

Presley Ann/Shutterstock; Cameron Mathison/Instagram

The actor later told Good morning America Jan. 9 that he was grateful to get anything out of the house, but it’s hard to deal with the knowledge that nothing is left of it.

“I was awake all night. I can’t sleep. I lost my home and everything I owned,” he said. “I have this hoodie and a pair of pants and two pairs of tennis shoes left. That’s it.”

“Every few minutes we think about the things that were in there that are irreplaceable, but there are a lot of things that are replaceable,” he added.

Heidi Montag shares heartbreak after house destroyed in Los Angeles fires: ‘I just really want to go home’

He had said ET that home is somewhere his daughter Lelia, 18, and son Lucas, 21, always thought they’d be able to return to, noting it was custom-built just for them.

“We spent over a decade working on every detail of that house,” he explained through tears. “It was something that kids loved, it was a place where kids wanted to raise their kids. I keep coming back to making sure we’re all safe. It’s so devastating and when you’re in shock like this, it’s kind of hard to think straight, to be sincere.”

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Mathison shared pictures of the charred remains of the house on his Instagram on Wednesday, January 8, touring the grounds as he returned for the first time since the evacuation.

“We are safe. But this is what is left of our beautiful home,” he wrote alongside the video. “Our home where our children were raised and where they wanted to raise their own one day.”

“Thanks to everyone who reached out and signed up,” he continued. “I can’t answer everyone so I wanted to give an update here. Sending so many prayers to everyone affected by these fires,” the caption concluded, followed by a praying hands emoji.

Several celebrities, along with more than 80,000 displaced residents, have been affected by the five wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles. In addition to the Mathison family, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag confirmed that their homes were destroyed.

Click here to learn more about how to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

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Source: HIS Education