Since early November, much of Australia has been struggling through catastrophic fire danger and blazes that have destroyed thousands of properties and have even claimed the lives of six people.
It was a similar story during last year’s California wildfires, that destroyed over 10,000 buildings and resulted in over 80 fatalities. Los Angeles-based celebrities were also affected by the fires, including Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, who narrowly saved his upcoming album from burning in the blazes.
In a recent interview with Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music, Parker said “I like to do these trips that I just go on on my own. Out of the city, wherever, for a few days, just to record and not think about anything else.”
“And one of them was in Malibu, and of course the bushfire came through,” he said.
Parker went on to explain that he “didn’t really have time to be scared,” but he just got in his car to escape the flames. “It was only when I was driving out the driveway that I [thought] ‘fire’!”
“[It was] almost like a joke – ‘your house is burning down, what do you grab?’” he said. “So I just grabbed my Hofner bass guitar which I’ve had for years. It’s the only thing that was there that was sentimental – other than the music on my laptop – so I just grabbed both those things and headed out.”
Last month, Tame Impala announced their upcoming album Slow Rush – which is set to drop next year. Considering Kevin Parker would have been working on Slow Rush when the fires destroyed his Malibu apartment, it’s pretty crazy to think it might’ve been a pile of ashes if he hadn’t saved his laptop from the flames.
Kevin Parker isn’t the only celebrity who lost his property in the 2018’s California wildfires. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, Gerard Butler, Robin Thicke and Shannen Doherty all lost their homes to the devastating fires, and plenty of others were evacuated with their homes in jeopardy.
And let’s not forget the thousands of civilians that were affected by the fires as well.
When Tame Impala’s Slow Rush drops next year, take a moment to appreciate Kevin Parker’s musical prowess and heroic efforts in saving it from burning to a crisp.