Steve Guttenberg immediately set out to help those affected by the Pacific Palisades fires – and he was almost unrecognizable.

The flames began around 10:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, Jan. 7, southeast of Palisades Drive, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, and have spread to more than 1,200 acres. By 2:23 p.m. it had spread over 770 acres as more than 250 firefighters and other local agencies tried to extinguish the flames, according to the LA Fire Department.

As residents were ordered to get to safety, the Police Academy Star, 66, was one of many who stepped up to help. He wore a light blue baseball cap with a face mask, making it difficult to immediately recognize him as a famous actor.

Speaking to KTLA, Guttenberg urged people who leave their cars behind to also leave their keys behind to make it easier to transport their car so that emergency vehicles such as fire trucks can get through. (At one point there was a traffic jam near Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard in Highland Village.)

“What happens is people take their keys as if they were in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. “We really need people to move their cars,” he said cocoon star explained to the outlet. “When you leave your car behind, leave the key in it so someone like me can move your car so those fire trucks can get there.”

“People are stuck up there. So we’re trying to clear Palisades Drive and I’m walking there as far as I can to move cars,” he added, expressing concern for families and pets who “really need help.”

“It’s really, really important,” Guttenberg said, rubbing his eyes.

He also told residents that now is the time for everyone to “come together.” “Don’t worry about your personal property. Just go out. Get your loved ones and get out.”

At the end of his interview, which a viewer posted on X, the reporter thanked Guttenberg for his time and asked him his name and whether he lived nearby.

Guttenberg, who was in an area surrounded by smoke, kindly shared his first and last name before revealing that he lives “at the top of the hill.” He added that his friends also had a hard time evacuating “because they were stuck on Palisades Drive.”

“You’re an actor…You look familiar now,” the reporter said before Guttenberg confirmed it.

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A rep for Guttenberg tells PEOPLE that the actor is “doing well” and confirmed that he is “trying to help.”

At last count, the fire had spread over 1,260 acres and was 0% contained. A “life-threatening” and “destructive” storm is also expected to hit Southern California, according to the Los Angeles National Weather Service.