Patrick O’Neal, the son of the late Ryan O’Neal, said he was left with “just ashes and bricks” after his father’s Malibu, Calif., home burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire.
Returning to his home on Monday, January 13, for the first time since the wildfires, Patrick, 57, tried to make sense of the mess he once called home.
“I’m trying to figure out where I am in the house,” Patrick O’Neal told a Getty Images photographer, per CBS News. “I think I’m standing in my dad’s bathroom. To be honest, I don’t even know what I’m looking for, I guess I’m just trying to find meaning. There’s nothing left, just ashes and bricks – there’s nothing.”
Patrick O’Neal returns to the family home in Malibu after the Palisades fire.
Brandon Bell/Getty
Patrick previously confirmed in a video statement posted to social media on Friday, January 10, that their family’s residence went up in flames during the recent fires in Los Angeles.
“I want to offer my prayers to the many who have suffered tremendous losses caused by these fires in Los Angeles County. Thousands lost their homes. Our family is also affected, as we lost our family home in Malibu,” the sports broadcaster said in a joint announcement shared with FanDuel Sports Network West.
Ryan O’Neal’s Malibu home destroyed in LA fires, Tatum O’Neal’s daughter says ‘I could cry’
As the video showed various images of the devastation, Patrick thanked those who supported him.
“Fortunately, our family is safe. And dogs too,” he continued, asking those who can donate to people in need to do so.
Sharing post-fire updates on his Instagram account, Patrick showed off one valuable item he managed to take with him before fleeing the property.
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“He’s been with me since 1990 – no questions asked [me] in any evacuation,” he captioned a photo of a hockey stick signed by Wayne Gretzky.
In his Instagram stories, Patrick showed the remains of his family’s house being flooded with water after the fire. A small rainbow could be seen as the stream of water flowed.
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Ryan O’Neal with his wife Joanna Moore and their children, Griffin and Tatum — 1965.
Photos International/Getty
Patrick’s half-sister, Tatum O’Neal, also shared on Threads that their father’s home was destroyed. “This is the saddest thing I could have cried. My father’s house is gone, Malibu is gone,” wrote 61-year-old Tatum.
The house was destroyed just over a year after O’Neal’s death. The Love story the actor passed away in December 2023. In addition to Patrick and Tatum, O’Neal was also the father of sons Griffin and Redmond.
Patrick O’Neal says father Ryan O’Neal was a ‘Hollywood legend’. Dot.’
The Pacific Palisades fires broke out on Tuesday, January 7, and are believed to be the costliest wildfire in United States history, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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Since breaking out, the blaze has burned more than 23,700 acres and was only 14% contained as of Monday, Jan. 13, according to Cal Fire. It grew so large that it stretched from the Pacific Coast Highway and threatened parts of the San Fernando Valley.
Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the LA fires.
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Source: HIS Education