Are the famous 'Barbenheimer' homes in Santa Monica safe from LA fires? Here's what we know
- The Palisades Fire, Hurst Fire and Eaton Fire began on Tuesday.
- The Palisades Fire has scorched more than 20,000 acres, as of Friday morning.
- The "Barbenheimer" homes remained intact, as of Thursday.
The "Barbenheimer" homes in Santa Monica, made famous online for their striking juxtaposition, have not been affected by the California wildfires, video taken Thursday shows.
Two adjacent homes along the Pacific Coast Highway, deemed the "Barbenheimer" homes in reference to the popular "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" film released in July 2023, remain untouched by the wildfires, Stringr videographer Juan Carrillo confirmed to Paste BN on Friday after visiting the homes in-person on Thursday.
Located on Santa Monica Beach, the two narrow homes, also known as the "Sherbet Homes," have grown popular on social media for their distinct looks. Viewing the homes from the Pacific Coast Highway, the home on the left appears gothic, with an all-black exterior. The house on the right is more like a dollhouse, with bright pink and purple accents. Their stark contrast resembles that of the "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" dual release, which quickly became known as "Barbenheimer."
Even before the "Barbenheimer" craze, the two homes were popularly known as a Santa Monica tourist attraction and photos of the homes circulated as far back as 2016. Over the years, the houses have been widely used in memes to represent duality.
As of Friday morning, the homes were not under an evacuation order, though an evacuation warning zone was nearby, according to Cal Fire.
How close are the wildfires to the 'Barbenheimer' homes?
See the location of the "Barbenheimer" houses marked by the red star in the image below.
The "Barbenheimer" homes in Santa Monica were just under a mile away from the closest evacuation order, as of Friday morning.
When did the California wildfires start?
The Palisades Fire, Hurst Fire (San Fernando Valley) and Eaton Fire (near Pasadena) started on Tuesday. As of Friday morning, the Palisades Fire had scorched more than 20,000 acres and was 8% contained. The Hurst Fire had burned more than 770 acres and was 37% contained, and the Eaton Fire had torched nearly 14,000 acres and was 3% contained, according to Cal Fire.
On Wednesday, two more fires, the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills and Lidia Fire in Acton, began. As of Thursday afternoon, the Sunset Fire had burned about 43 acres and was 100% contained, according to Cal Fire. The Lidia Fire had scorched nearly 400 acres and was 75% contained, as of Friday afternoon.
Most recently, on Thursday, the Kenneth Fire began. Located south of Bell Canyon, near Hidden Hills, the Kenneth Fire had burned 1,000 acres and was 35% contained, as of Friday morning, according to Cal Fire.
By Friday, more than 10,000 homes, businesses and other structures had been damaged or destroyed. At least 10 people had been killed, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. About 180,000 people were under evacuation orders and another 200,000 were under advisories to be ready to evacuate, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Contributing: Andre Byik, Joedy McCreary and BrieAnna J. Frank
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at Paste BN. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.