Alert – Gossip Girl actress Samantha Rose Baldwin bravely ran through the raging Los Angeles fires to rescue her cat

Gossip Girl reboot actress Samantha Rose Baldwin has told DailyMail.com of her dramatic run through fire and ashes to rescue her cat in the  Palisades Fire.

Instead of running from the blow torch-like inferno, Baldwin, 26, bravely raced home to save her beloved 10-year-old tortoiseshell, Kitty. 

The actress, who made her television debut in the second season of the Gossip Girl reboot that ran from 2021 to 2022, overcame numerous hurdles to get back to her apartment – including facing a stream of never-ending traffic from people fleeing for their lives.

A typical 28-minute drive from West Hollywood to Pacific Palisades turned into a two-and-half-hour nightmare, leaving the New York native with no other option but to abandon her car and run on foot to rescue her cat. 

‘When I got back into the vicinity of my home, the cars weren’t moving. There was bumper to bumper traffic and when I looked at my GPS, it said it would take at least another two hours to get home. That’s when I decided to park my car and run.

‘I ran for about 15 minutes on Sunset Boulevard until I made it home,’ Baldwin told DailyMail.com. 

Samantha Rose Baldwin, 26, bravely raced home to save her beloved 10-year-old cat, Kitty

Baldwin had to face a stream of never-ending traffic from people fleeing for their lives in order to get home – abandoning her car to run to her apartment in Pacific Palisades

After twenty harrowing minutes, Baldwin was able to find Kitty inside her couch and wrapped her up in a blanket to put in her cat carrier backpack

Meanwhile, the actresses’ father, Michael, a security guard who works at a nearby elementary school which has since burned down, was helping students safely evacuate.

‘It was an immediate spring into action and an amalgamation of questions racing through my head – can I get my cat out?,’ Baldwin said. ‘Is my dad safe and getting ready to leave?’ 

Once inside her apartment, the next challenge was finding her tortoiseshell cat who was hiding.

‘It took 20 minutes for me to find her. She had gone into her best hiding spot which was inside the couch. I grabbed her and wrapped her up in a blanket and put her inside my cat carrier backpack.

‘Once we got outside, the fire had gotten closer to us and the path going back to my car was now no longer an option.

‘I thought to myself, ‘where I am suppose to go?’. The fire was all around us. The terrifying part was when a big gust of wind and smoke came in so fast that you couldn’t see anything.’

When she emerged from her apartment with her cat and suitcase in hand she told DailyMail.com she had no idea where to go and was worried for her father who worked as a security guard at a nearby school

Baldwin made her television debut in the second season of the Gossip Girl reboot which ran from 2021 to 2022

Baldwin said the wind came in so fast that smoke surrounded her and she couldn’t see, so she made a break for the water where she was able to reunite with her dad

The actress continued: ‘Here I was stuck between the fire and the ocean, so it only made sense to get to the water. I was genuinely running for my life with my cat strapped to my back and a suitcase rolling behind me. 

‘I had to dart in and out of the cars and dodge flaming branches and palm leaves falling to the ground all around me like a minefield. 

‘It felt like something I would see or do in an action movie, not my real life.’ 

Once Baldwin made it to safety at the beach, she was reunited with her father who had successfully evacuated the school and was now helping firefighters direct traffic and people in need. 

‘While I was running towards the ocean, I called my Mom and told her I loved her. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it,’ Baldwin said.

‘When I finally made it down to PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), the family behind me told me they were instructed by law enforcement to get out of their car because the fire was moving so quickly, and to run towards the ocean.’ 

Baldwin is now in North Hollywood staying with a friend. She said her cat Kitty is adjusting since they travel everywhere together when she’s on location filming a TV show or movie

The Palisades fire broke out shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm on Tuesday that the National Weather service warned could be ‘life threatening’ and the strongest to hit Southern California in more than a decade

Baldwin is now in North Hollywood staying with a friend, telling DailyMail.com that her cat Kitty is adjusting since they travel everywhere together when she’s on location filming a TV show or movie. 

The young actress has two films set for release in 2025 including Kaitlyn’s Chance which she stars alongside Sean Patrick Flannery, Jennifer Taylor and Jamie King.

But for now, she’s thankful for both her cat’s safety and noted the pet’s resilience: ‘This is Kitty’s second natural disaster, she originally came to me by taking her on as a foster for a family that had been affected by Hurricane Maria back in 2017.

‘My body aches. I feel like I got hit by a bus and run over three times. I had so much ash on my face yesterday that I looked like I just walked out of Mad Max. 

‘My chest hurts and my throat is a bit scratchy, but overall I am so thankful to be alive, and that my Dad and cat are safe.’

The Palisades fire broke out shortly after the start of a Santa Ana windstorm on Tuesday that the National Weather service warned could be ‘life threatening’ and the strongest to hit Southern California in more than a decade.

Overwhelmed Los Angeles firefighters put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to assist their efforts as they face mounting reported obstacles like fire hydrants running dry and abandoned cars blocking the roads

From the initial fire, multiple blazes broke out in the neighborhoods of Altadena and Sylmar. 

Mandatory evacuations are widespread throughout the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena and overwhelmed Los Angeles firefighters put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to assist their efforts. 

Abandoned cars that blocked emergency personnel from making their way to the devastated areas – which forced the use of a bulldozer – and fire hydrants running dry are only some of the obstacles firefighters are currently facing. 

Two people have been reported dead and thousands of structures destroyed in the raging fires.