Mel Gibson lost his home to the Los Angeles-area wildfires while he was doing an interview with hit podcaster Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas.
Gibson told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas in a phone interview Thursday that was taping an interview with Rogan for The Joe Rogan Experience as the wildfires swept through Malibu.
"I was in Austin doing the Rogan podcast -- I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there," Gibson told Vargas. "But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn't there. I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven't got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore."
The L.A. wildfires broke out Tuesday, resulting in either damages or total destruction of thousands of homes and businesses in the area, while thousands more residents were evacuated because of the blazes. Several Hollywood TV productions have been paused during the blazes while events including red carpet premieres and awards season events have been postponed or canceled.
Gibson told Vargas that he took some of the video that was being shown during their interview, while his girlfriend, Rosalind Ross, took some of the other footage. Gibson noted that Ross and their son, Lars, were safe, since they were evacuated from the area before wildfires spread to their home.
Gibson said during the interview that "it was emotional" seeing his raised home since he had lived there for about 14 to 15 years. He also noted that his house contained a lot of personal things he won't be able to get back including photos and files, but other things he lost can be replaced.
"These are only things," Gibson told Vargas. "And the good, the good news is that you know, those in my family and those I love are all well, and we're all happy and healthy and out of harm's way and that's all I can care about, really."
Some of the other Hollywood notables who have lost their homes to the wildfires in the area include Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Eugene Levy, Paris Hilton, James Woods and Anthony Hopkins.
Mel Gibson told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas that others were affected by the fire in his Malibu neighborhood.
"The neighbors really got it hard. Ed Harris, the actor, who lives down the street -- I think his place is gone, [as were] many of my friends' [homes] up and down the street," Gibson said in the NewsNation interview. "It was kind of random. It wasn't every place but it was quite a few places -- there [were] a dozen places or so that were just non-existent. Nothing but a chimney and few roof tiles ... the vehicles were gone -- everything."
Effectively, Gibson added, the area was "completely toasted."
"I've never seen such a complete burn," Gibson told Vargas. "It's like somebody did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it."
Gibson is readying the release of his next film as a director -- the airplane thriller Flight Risk -- which stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace.
The film, which will be released in theaters on Jan. 24, marks Gibson's first film as a director since his Oscar-nominated World War II epic Hacksaw Ridge in 2016.
