Malibu residents evacuate after massive, expanding sinkhole opens at Nicolas Cage’s house
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The city of Malibu declared a local emergency and issued evacuation orders for 31 homes after a massive and expanding sinkhole opened up in the driveway of Nicolas Cage’s oceanfront residence.
The Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff’s departments responded to the sinkhole at a home on the 31600 block of Sea Level Drive around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday. According to real estate records, the property is owned by Cage, an award-winning actor whose accolades include an Oscar and Golden Globe for his role in the 1995 film “Leaving Las Vegas.” His recent titles include “Pig” and “Spider-Noir.” A representative for Cage could not be reached for comment.
By Tuesday evening, the sinkhole was roughly 25 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide, but it did not expand overnight. Authorities warned conditions are likely to worsen due to high tides and rain from Tropical Storm Marie.
The city issued an emergency declaration, saying conditions around the sinkhole pose an imminent danger to adjacent homes in the gated community, which abuts Lechuza Beach. Seven residences have been red-tagged due to hazardous conditions while another 24 homes were being red-tagged due to the loss of safe vehicle access, the city said Tuesday evening.
“Emergency personnel access is severely constrained and may be impassable, due to the large portion of the road that has collapsed,” the city wrote in the emergency declaration. “The intact portion of the roadway is too narrow to accommodate emergency response vehicles, including fire engines and other large apparatus, creating a substantial risk to public safety and emergency response capabilities.”
A temporary shelter was opened at Malibu High School, at 30215 Morning View Drive, for the affected properties.
The Southern California Gas Company shut off service Tuesday night to address the gas leak, according to the city. Waterworks District 29 also shut off water service to prevent water main breaks.
The homeowners association, which controls the private roadway, started to seek city permits within hours of the sinkhole appearing. Repairs and shoring up the area could take up to five weeks depending on local conditions, according to the city.
Joseph Irvin, Malibu’s city manager, said the city is working on supporting the homeowners association and private road owners, who will be installing mitigation measures such as sandbags to minimize further impact. Permit approvals are also needed in order to start work. He estimated that process could take three or four more days.
Crews also have to work on debris removal in the sinkhole area. The city anticipates they’ll have permits in hand and start work next week.
“I don’t think this is a single, isolated event for Malibu,” Irvin said. “We’re seeing this kind of coastal erosion impact happening up and down the Southern California coastal region. With the high tides, El Niño-type weather and sea level rise, this is something that is going to keep happening.”
Irvin said that costs to the city have been minimal, with homeowners footing most of the expenses.
“The construction timeline is estimated to be approximately four weeks,” he added. “So the ingress and egress to Sea Level Drive will be evaluated throughout that process and as soon as it’s deemed to be safe for residents to return, we will make sure they’re aware of that and share that with all interested persons.”
The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood advisory until 11 p.m. Wednesday. Minor coastal flooding from high tides could affect beaches in Orange and San Diego counties, resulting in the flooding of parking lots, parks and roads.
High tides are expected in Newport Beach, with waves of up to 6.3 feet anticipated around 8:45 p.m.
Post-Tropical Cyclone Marie is also expected to bring high tides and rain to the area, which could potentially worsen conditions at the sinkhole site.
The weather service said “swells generated by Marie will continue to affect portions of the coast of the Baja California Peninsula and Southern California for the next couple of days.”
In the emergency declaration, the city also noted the danger of further coastal erosion posed by this fall and winter’s El Niño event.
“A strengthening ‘super’ El Niño brings a high risk of record sea levels, severe coastal flooding, and dramatic beach narrowing to the California coast this winter,” the city wrote.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating a Nicolas Cage movie that went missing at Netflix last month. Producer Simon Afram has sued Netflix seeking economic damages of more than $100 million.
Times staff writers Jack Flemming and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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