Actor Jack Nicholson‘s Hollywood Hills home was destroyed by fire last night. The blaze was so large that nearly 90 firefighters were dispatched to the scene to knock down the flames.
The L.A. Fire Department initially thought that they were responding to a brush fire when the call came in at 8:00 p.m. The residence, situated on a sloped hillside, made it difficult to battle.
The structure was ruled a “total loss” by the fire marshal. According to an LAFD spokesperson, several responders were treated for heat exhaustion.
Nicholson bought the home in 1973 and has rented it out since 1975 to his good friend and former co-star Bill Tynan. They appeared together in the movie The Two Jakes, a sequel to Nicholson’s Oscar-winning Chinatown.
Tynan, in bed, smelled smoke and was able to flee the house before it became fully engulfed. Firefighters are speculating that it started from chemicals in the garage.
Jack lives just a few minutes away at his Mulholland Drive estate.
Check out video from the blaze below:
Photo: Video Screen Grab