The 31-year-old singer has been staying in California on a holiday visa.
Cork singer-songwriter Bambie Thug has said she was ‘lucky’ to escape from the devastating wildfires that have been ravaging buildings and homes in Los Angeles this week.
Over 180,000 residents are now under evacuation orders across the state of California, with numerous Hollywood stars affected.
The inferno initially erupted in the Pacific Palisades suburb on Tuesday, with gusts of up to 100mph allowing the blaze to spread throughout the valleys and canyons surrounding the city of LA.
According to Cal Fire, over 25,000 acres of the Palisades area and over 10,000 acres of the nearby neighbourhood of Easton have been scorched since Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office confirmed today that the death toll has risen to 10 people.
Speaking on the Opinion Line on Cork’s 96FM this morning, the Macroom native described her narrow escape from the Runyon Canyon fire.
“I was watching the news, but I had turned it on mute and unmuted it and it immediately said, ‘Hollywood Hills evacuate now’,” she told radio host PJ Coogan.
“So I went up to the roof and behind the house by this restaurant called Yamashiro, which is like this old Japanese, historic restaurant.”
Bambie continued: “There was like this big fire next to it and there were eight of us on the roof and I was like, ‘Should we leave?’, and then immediately after I said that we got an evacuation notice.
“I’ve never experienced a natural disaster. Obviously in Ireland we’re lucky. I was trying to book an Uber and they were cancelling on me and then a friend of mine actually came back into the building, gave me a lift down. So I was lucky, luck of the Irish.”
A-list celebs like Paris Hilton, Anthony Hopkins, and Billy Crystal have all seen their homes reduced to smouldering rubble this week.
Speaking about the extent of the damage, Bambie said: “I mean, it’s bad for everyone, but they [the celebrities] have the money to rebuild it. There are people who don’t.
“You know what, whatever with them,” she added. “I mean, it’s bad for everyone, but they have the money to rebuild it. Some people don’t.
“Residents were distributing masks and taking in those displaced by the fire. It’s lovely to see, actually, there’s a beautiful spirit here.”
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Bambie told Coogan that she is scheduled to return home to Ireland at the end of the month.
“I’m actually just over to reboot. I’m on a holiday visa. I’m just like resting and seeing my friends.
“I’m safe and I’m well. I’m grateful to be alive,” she added.
Yesterday, a man was detained on suspicion of starting one of the catastrophic wildfires.
At around 4:30pm local time on Thursday, police responded to reports of someone attempting to light a fire in the Woodland Hills area.
The suspect had been spotted by residents, who managed to hold him down until officers arrived, KTLA reports.
Sean Dinse, from LAPD’s Topange Division, said: “What we know right now is that the incident occurred here and about 20-30 minutes later, a suspect was detained by citizens.”
When asked whether fire may have been arson, he said: “At this time, that’s what we believe. It’s being investigated as a crime.”
An arson investigation is underway and no further details on the suspect have been released.
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