EXCLUSIVE: New Owner of Home Where Matthew Perry Died Reveals $8.55 Million Property Has Miraculously Survived Wildfires—After Hero Neighbors Rushed in To Help

The new owner of the Pacific Palisades home where Matthew Perry died in October 2023 has shared her relief at learning that the house survived the deadly wildfires that have ripped through the tony enclave of Los Angeles.

Real estate developer Anita Verma-Lallian purchased the four-bedroom, five-bathroom dwelling almost one year to the day after the “Friends” star’s passing, paying $8.55 million for the property in an off-market deal. She later revealed that she planned to use it as a vacation home for her family, who are based in Scottsdale, AZ.

However, just days after Verma-Lallian and her family returned to Arizona after celebrating the New Year at the house, the neighborhood in which it is located was ravaged by one of fire wildfires that have since spread across more than 27,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Live maps of the fire’s spread revealed that the street on which the house sits had been engulfed in flames, with Verma-Lallian sharing on Instagram that she had no idea whether the property had survived, relying solely on information from her neighbors and national news coverage for updates on the status of the abode.

But now, the developer and movie producer has revealed exclusively to Realtor.com® that the home has miraculously survived the devastating blaze—sustaining only minimal damage in the backyard—while heaping praise on her “amazing” community for stepping in to help preserve the property.

“One of our friends was able to get to the house, and they’ve confirmed that our house is OK,” she shares. “There were a couple of small fires in the backyard that they were able to put water on and contain, and we’re just hoping that they stay contained. But as of now, our house is OK.

“The community has been amazing, very welcoming; we’ve met most of them, and they’ve gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. Neighbors have checked on the property for us, and they’ve sent updates about everything that is going on, which has been so helpful.”

Before learning from neighbors that the home had survived the horrifying fires, which have so far claimed five lives and destroyed more than 2,000 structures, Verma-Lallian admits she felt completely “helpless” while forced to watch on from afar as her new community was engulfed in flames.

“We just bought the home in Pacific Palisades; and it’s a second home for us, a vacation home. We spent the holidays there, and we came back [to Arizona] on Sunday,” she explains. “Then, in the afternoon [on Tuesday, Jan. 7], we started getting alerted to the fires. Neighbors started texting us about it.

“The fires were definitely in our direct area, we could see the flames and the smoke encroaching our pool on our security cameras. We could see that the fire department was there on our street, and we saw that they had quite a few fire trucks, maybe five or six.

“We saw the firefighters put out some of the fires successfully—but then we lost service, and we had no idea what was going on.

“I just felt so helpless not knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything. We didn’t even have access to local news; we were watching national news, but we couldn’t tell what had happened to the house.”

Verma-Lallian—who is the CEO and founder of two companies, Camelback Productions and Arizona Land Consulting—says the Palisades fires were all the more horrifying to her because she had thought that the area was not at high risk for wildfires.

“There really haven’t been many fires in Pacific Palisades that we were aware of,” she said. “Malibu seemed like a higher risk. I know there were pockets in the L.A. area that had become more high-risk, but we were sure that we were being safe.

“It’s been a lot,” she says. I never would have imagined that this would be happening. It’s been crazy, and there have been a lot of emotions.”

Despite knowing that, as of now, the house is still standing, Verma-Lallian says there are still a lot of unknowns—starting with when she will be able to return to the property, having been warned by her neighbors that it could take up to a week before they are allowed to go back to their area and check in on the damage.

“We don’t know for sure when we can go back,” she says. “As soon as we can go back to the house, we will jump on a plane and get back there. But we’re in contact with neighbors who are being told it could be as long as week before that can happen.”

While she cannot yet return to her new home, Verma-Lallian is quick to praise the community that surrounds it, calling attention to the many neighbors and friends who have rallied around her family.

“Everyone loves living [in the Palisades], it’s such a beautiful place to live, such a wonderful community; and it’s devastating that we’re having to go through this,” she says. “The amount of support we’ve received from one another has been incredible. People have been checking in on each other’s houses and sending messages updating them.

“My friend had a home in Malibu that didn’t make it, but even after finding that out, she went and checked on my home to see that it was OK. So even people who are experiencing such awful losses are still going out of their way to help others.”

At the time of publication, the Pacific Palisades Fire, which is one of five currently burning through the Los Angeles area, has spread to more than 17,000 acres and is at zero percent containment, while the Eaton Fire, which broke out hours later now covers more than 10,000 acres and is also at zero percent containment, per Cal Fire.

Three other fires have since broken out, including a blaze in the Hollywood Hills that is being referred to as the Sunset Fire and has been described by authorities as a “very dangerous and explosive” brush fire, according to CBS News.

Two of the later fires—the Hurst Fire and the Lidia Fire—are now partially contained, firefighters confirmed on Jan. 9.