Meryl Streep was among the many people affected by the wildfires in California this month.
Receiving orders to evacuate their homes, they faced the very real possibility that those houses would no longer be there when they returned.
Streep, 75, who was born in Summit and grew up in Bernardsville and Basking Ridge, tried to leave her home after she was given an evacuation order.
But there was a problem -- something was blocking her way.
Streep's nephew, author and journalist Abe Streep, shared the story as part of an article about people's experiences with the wildfires and evacuation for New York Magazine.
He included celebrities like the three-time Oscar winner in his family as well as locals who aren't household names.
"My aunt Meryl Streep received an order to evacuate on January 8, but when she tried to leave, she discovered that a large tree had fallen over in her driveway, blocking her only exit," he writes.
Streep had to find another way.
"Determined to make it out, she borrowed wire cutters from a neighbor, cut a car-size hole in the fence she shared with the neighbors on the other side, and drove through their yard to escape," her nephew says in the story.
Abe Streep did not say more about any potential damage to his aunt's home, but he also talked to other celebrities including Martin Short, Meryl Streep's friend and "Only Murders in the Building" co-star.
Short, who has been romantically linked to Meryl Streep in entertainment press (the actors have not confirmed a romantic relationship), did not lose his longtime home in the fires, but his son's nearby house was destroyed.
Short, 74, who evacuated due to the Pacific Palisades fire, said he planned to keep living in his house despite the risk of future fires.