Nicolas Cage’s $10.5 million Malibu mansion is at the center of a coastal emergency after pounding surf and high tides triggered the collapse of beachfront driveways, forcing officials to red-tag five homes as crews race against the clock to save the neighborhood.
The City of Malibu declared a local emergency Tuesday evening as officials continue to deal with a massive sinkhole.
“An evacuation order is in effect for all affected properties. Sheriff Deputies have notified residents in person, and a digital alert has been issued,” a statement read.
The problems include areas around Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn area and Westward Beach “due to strong waves and high tides.”
The crisis unfolded Monday morning on a private road in the 31600 block of Sea Level Drive near Point Lechuza.
Five beachfront homes were red-tagged, according to CBS, meaning entry is prohibited, after their driveways collapsed “due to coastal erosion from the high tides and high surf.”
SoCal Gas officials said crews were notified around 5:45 a.m. about damage to natural gas infrastructure caused by a sinkhole.
Workers discovered damage to a half-inch natural gas line and safely stopped the flow. Repairs are underway, and residents and businesses in the area may notice a natural gas odor while the work continues, SoCal Gas said.
Now the race is on to hold back the ocean.
At least 15 concrete trucks descended on the exclusive gated community off Broad Beach Road as crews from the City and third parties scrambled to plug a failed seawall and shore up a roughly 30-by-30-foot hole where the driveway once stood, with asphalt and concrete cracked apart and collapsed toward the enclosed garage.
The damage is near Cage’s four-level, 3,938-square-foot residence at 31630 Sea Level Drive.
Because the road is private, the trucks must go in one at a time to dump concrete into the collapse.
Workers are racing to fill the hole before the evening high tide arrives and potentially washes away even more land.
Some crews could remain all night to monitor the situation.
But the concrete blitz may be only a temporary fix against the brute force of the ocean. Workers are pouring wet concrete into a wet hole while waves continue hammering the coast.
The seawall has failed between two properties, washing out the section behind three homes.
Cracks have opened in the wall, while the ocean is eroding the ground beneath the foundation of the private road.
Toby Canham for CA Post
The crisis was also accompanied by a gas leak at the back of Cage’s property.
The gas began leaking in the morning while most neighbors were inside.
One neighbor told The California Post that something happened between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m.
A house across the street opened its windows and doors to clear the gas.
The leak now appears to be shut off.
Stormy weather has battered coastal Los Angeles with rain, thunder, lightning, pounding surf and coastal flooding.
The extreme surf and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Marie caused the flooding, driveway collapse and gas leak on the private road in western Malibu.
Cage, 62, bought the property in 2024 for $10.5 million. He is known for films including “Face/Off,” “Con Air” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.”
For now, crews are racing to keep the ocean from taking any more of the neighborhood before high tide hits.
