Mira Sorvinois hoping thatJeff Lewiscan help restore her home and especially the pool her kids love so much after her family’s property was badly damaged in the Woolsey wildfire.
In an exclusive preview of this week’sHollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis, the formerFlipping Outstar meets with the Oscar-winning actress to recount the damage the blaze caused and discuss how to reubilt.
Sorvino’s house thankfully didn’t burn during the 2018 blaze that destroyed many homes in the Los Angeles area, but it was was badly damaged from smoke. “Our house got smoked and we had to send all of our belongings away to be desmoked. [The fire] came all the way down our hill and it burned the hill,” she says.
amazon studios
“All of our belongings came back in like ten million boxes and we had two storage containers and we have the shed,” she continues. “I need the mental fortitude to go through stuff and ruthlessly throw things away.”
Looking at the hillside, which once was filled with grass and is now barren, Sorvino explains, “It came down to the street and our neighbor and the fire department put it out.”
She continues, “We had a neighbor down the road who was defending all our houses. He stayed. . . and came out with a hose and also a shovel and put out these spot fires.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
A very special part of the property that she wants to focus on restoring first is the family’s pool, which is a favorite spot for her kids. Sorvino and her husband,Christopher Backus, 40, have four children — Mattea, 16, Johnny, 15, Holden, 12, and Lucia, 9.
“Before the pool got filled with ashes, and before the fire and beforeCovid, the pool was the epicenter of our family life, and the pool got filled with this sort of silty ash and it wrecked the surface.”
“The kids really miss it, and we just want to have this special place for our family to really enjoy and make memories together.”
Lewis, 52, was more than happy to help. “It’s devastating. I do like that this pool is going to bring them some joy and I feel like it’s a start to putting the property back together. Maybe this is going to turn their luck around,” he says.
source: people.com
