FLEA of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

The rocker's $5 million (£2.5 million) French-style mansion was burned down in the wildfires which began on Saturday (24Nov07), the second series of blazes to hit the region in less than a month.

Flea - real name Michael Balzary - confirmed the loss by sending local newspaper the Los Angeles Times a text message saying his home had "burnt to a crisp".

Following the weekend's fires, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has reactivated the state of emergency he declared last month (Oct07) and vowed to make aid available to those affected by the infernos.

Source: WENN