Lea Michele given 'two minutes' to evacuate house as California wildfires spread

Lea Michele grabbed her cat when told she had two minutes to evacuate her house as wildfires raged around Southern California.

Affluent neighborhoods such as Bel Air, Brentwood and Mandeville Canyon were threatened after the blaze, the Skirball Fire, started in Los Angeles in the early hours on Wednesday morning (06Dec17). Former Glee star Lea was just one of the local residents forced to leave her home as emergency services continue battling against the inferno, which is just one of the fires currently causing havoc in the region.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at its annual Women in Entertainment breakfast, Lea recalled her thinking as she was told she had to evacuate her house.

"I had two minutes to think of what I can take and I grabbed my cat and that's all," she said. "It really doesn't matter, all you need is to surround yourself with the people that you love. These 'things' - nothing matters."

She added during an interview with E! News at the event that she knew she would have to leave her home temporarily, saying: "It's so crazy because yesterday when there were those duel fires, I had such a strong feeling and then when I woke up this morning - thankfully I woke up early for this event - and when everyone was coming to get me ready, they said we gotta go so I just threw my cat in my bag and I left.

"I'd rather just be safe so I packed everything up and I went to (Fashion Police’s) Brad Goreski's house. Everything will be fine but it's just better to be safe than sorry, and I'm happy that I made it here today."

Several famous faces, including Meryl Streep, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Diane Lane, Billie Lourd and Rita Wilson, were unable to attend The Hollywood Reporter event due to road closures and safety concerns in the area.