Melanie Griffith begs for prayers as her mother is evacuated from big cat sanctuary in path of ferocious LA wildfire that has gutted homes, destroyed 22,000 acres of land AND the set for Wipeout

Melanie Griffith asked for prayers after her mother was evacuated from a wildlife sanctuary because of raging wildfires in Los Angeles.

The actress wrote on Twitter: ‘Please say a prayer for all residents in the path of the #SandFire . My Moms place Shambala is being evacuated.’

Griffith’s 86-year-old mother, Tippi Hedren, opened the preserve in 1983 following on from her film Roar.

There are over 40 big cats – including lions, tigers, cougars, black and spotted leopards, servals, bobcats, and an Asian leopard cat – who are cared for at the ranch.

On Sunday evening, Griffith, 58, confirmed that her mom was safe and the beloved cats had been saved. She wrote: ‘Mom is safe! Shambala is safe. Now sending love and thanks to all the firefighters who saved her and the cats.’

They accept donations for The Roar Foundation, the organization that runs the center.

Sable Ranch – a filming set used in the A-Team, 24 and Supernatural and the site for the Wipeout set – has also been destroyed.

The blaze has grown ferocious new power two days after it broke out, sending so much smoke in the air that planes making drops on it had to be grounded.

Officials said it has run through the area ‘like a freight train’.

The latest figures released by the authorities say the blaze is at 20 percent containment and a total of 18 family homes have been gutted in the areas of Sand Canyon, Bear Divide and Little Tujunga.

On Saturday, authorities said the Sand Fire was at 20 per cent containment, but the U.S. Forest Service corrected that figure and said the fire remains at 10 per cent containment. Above firefighters battled the Sand Fire on Sunday

About 300 miles up the coast, crews were battling another blaze spanning 10,000 acres (16 square miles) north of the majestic Big Sur region.

Authorities say almost 1,700 firefighters who are being hindered by scorching temperatures of up to 112 degrees are battling the blaze in the mountains north of Los Angeles known as the Sand Fire.

On Sunday crews faced another day of hot weather, low humidity and high winds that could once again fan the fires’ explosive growth. Shifting winds sent smoke away from greater Los Angeles and into desert communities, where residents were warned about poor air quality.

Late Saturday evening, a man’s body was found outside a home on Iron Canyon Road in Santa Clarita. Detectives are working to determine whether he was killed by the blaze or another cause, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Rob Hahnlein said.