Crews dumped wet concrete into a churning sinkhole Monday in a desperate bid to save Nicolas Cage’s Malibu neighborhood before the evening high tide hit.
The actor, 62, purchased the four-level, 3,938-square-foot residence at 31630 Sea Level Drive for $10.5 million in 2024. His property sits on a private road in the 31600 block of Sea Level Drive near Point Lechuza, where pounding surf and high tides triggered a coastal emergency that red-tagged five beachfront homes and forced a local evacuation order.
The City of Malibu declared a local emergency Tuesday evening as officials grappled with a massive sinkhole and failed seawall between two properties. The collapse washed out the section behind three homes, with cracks opening in the wall and the ocean eroding ground beneath the private road’s foundation.
“An evacuation order is in effect for all affected properties. Sheriff Deputies have notified residents in person, and a digital alert has been issued,” the city said in a statement.
SoCal Gas crews were notified around 5:45 a.m. About damage to natural gas infrastructure caused by the 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 work continues, SoCal Gas said.
The gas leak struck at the back of Cage’s property 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.
At least 15 concrete trucks descended on the exclusive gated community off Broad Beach Road. Because the road is private, the trucks had to enter one at a time to dump concrete into the roughly 30-by-30-foot hole where the driveway once stood, with asphalt and concrete cracked apart and collapsed toward an enclosed garage.
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.
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.
The problems extended to areas around Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn area and Westward Beach “due to strong waves and high tides,” officials said.
Some crews could remain all night to monitor the situation as workers race to keep the ocean from taking any more of the neighborhood.
Cage is known for films including “Face/Off,” “Con Air” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.”