‘Wanted to grab so much more’

Cameron Mathison opens up about her massive loss from the LA fires.

The All my children alum, 55, spoke with Entertainment tonight on Wednesday, Jan. 9, explaining how he and his family escaped The Eaton Fire, which burned their home earlier this week. When they were forced to evacuate, he said he “didn’t really think” they would lose everything, so he only took passports, birth certificates and a few photo albums.

“I unfortunately left behind some valuable ones where the kids were very, very young and films that you can’t replace,” he said, adding: “If I really thought the house was going down, I would have grabbed so much more.”

Just hours before, he was out to eat when his ex-wife, Vanessa, called to tell him they had to evacuate. They went to an apartment they own in the nearby area of ​​Pasadena, and the next morning they got word that their home didn’t make it.

“(Vanessa) woke me up at 5 in the morning because she had been up pretty much all night watching the news and hearing that the street over our street… the reporters were literally on our block on TV.” Cameron recalled, “We’re sitting on the couch watching the news and recognizing that the houses around our house were burning down, but I couldn’t see our house.”

“I was just sitting there, it was probably 6 in the morning and I had to go up there,” he continued, saying he bought a mask and goggles before going into his neighborhood. “It looked like a war zone.”

Although he had a “hope” that their house would be okay, he soon realized that it wasn’t.

“It was all gone,” he revealed. “It was really, really decimated. There’s nothing there. Less than nothing. It’s all just burned to nothing.”

The actor later told Good morning America on Jan. 9 that he was grateful to have gotten something out of the home, but knowing that there is nothing left of it is hard to cope with.

“I’ve been up all night. I can’t sleep. I’ve lost my home and everything I own,” he said. “I’ve got this hoodie and a pair of pants and two pairs of sneakers left. That’s it.”

“Every few minutes we think about things that were in there that are irreplaceable, but there are many things that can be replaced,” he added.

He had told A that the home was a place his daughter Lelia, 18, and son Lucas, 21, always thought they would be able to return to, noting that it was purpose-built for them.

“We spent over a decade making every detail of that house,” he explained tearfully. “It was something the kids loved, it was where the kids wanted to raise their kids. I keep coming back to we’re all safe. It’s so devastating and when you’re in shock like this, it’s a bit hard to think clearly, to be honest.”

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Mathison shared photos of the charred remains of the home on his Instagram on Wednesday, January 8, where he gave a tour of the grounds as he returned for the first time since the evacuation.

“We are safe. But this is what is left of our beautiful home,” he wrote alongside the video. “Our home where our children have grown up and where they would raise their own one day.”

“Thanks to everyone who reached out and checked in,” he continued. “Can’t reply to everyone, so wanted to give an update here. Sending so many prayers to everyone affected by these fires,” he ended the caption followed by a praying hands emoji.

Several celebrities, along with over 80,000 displaced residents, have been affected by the five fires raging in Los Angeles right now. In addition to the Mathison family, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes and Spencer Pratt, and Heidi Montag have all confirmed their homes have been destroyed.

Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the LA fires.