Owner of Home Destroyed in Anne Heche Crash Reacts to the Terrifying Incident

Days after her home was engulfed in flames and declared a total loss after actress Anne Heche crashed her car into it, Jennifer Durand is speaking out about the terrifying accident. As Heche remains in the hospital in “extremely critical condition,” Durand spoke to PEOPLE about the incident, revealing that she first learned of the crash through the home’s current tenant, Lynne Mishele.

After Heche’s vehicle drove “almost all the way through” the house and “almost immediately” caught fire, Durand shared that Mishele “called me and asked me if I was sitting down, and then told me a car had crashed through the home and it was on fire.” According to Durand, Mishele “could barely speak so it took a few minutes to really understand what was happening.” When she arrived at the scene, Durand and Mishele “hugged and cried a lot. In that moment, I was just so relieved and grateful that she and her animals had survived this. Nothing could have prepared me for what the house looked like.” While Durand had owned the home for 24 years, she noted that it was Mishele’s first.

“Lynne has made it her home … there are a lot of memories there, and it is just gone,” she shared. “The firefighters helped us sift through it – I can’t accurately describe how that feels. Every firefighter and officer that I spoke with were incredibly kind and helped in every way they could. They spent so much time with us, explaining everything and helping search for things. I am especially grateful for their response.”

Heche, who recently had a recurring role on CBS’ All Rise, was driving a blue Mini Cooper when the car crashed into the home in the Mar Vista neighborhood on Friday. LAPD responded to the call just before 11 a.m. and it took 59 firefighters over an hour to extinguish the flame and pull Heche out of the car. The house was “red-tagged” by the Los Angeles Fire Department, leaving Mishele without most of her possessions. A GoFundMe page has been created by Durand to help Mishele pay for repairs and replace her belongings.

Heche, meanwhile, remains in the hospital. The actress suffered severe burns in the crash. On Monday, a representative for the actor told Deadline, “At this time Anne is in extreme critical condition. She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention.” Heche is said to be in a coma “and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”