“I’m currently a little bit homeless,” said Cage, according to Page Six. “Something happened to my house in Malibu so I’m just sort of living in hotels, so I don’t have normal trick or treaters I would like to enjoy tonight.”
Cage was alluding to the sinkhole, which was reported to be 25 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide. Its emergence created a local emergency for many Malibu residents, resulting in the evacuation of 31 homes in the area. Thankfully, no one was injured during this ordeal.
“The sinkhole poses imminent danger to the homes and residents along Sea Level Drive,” wrote Malibu’s director of emergency services at the time. “As of the time of this proclamation, seven residences have been red-tagged due to hazardous conditions resulting from the sinkhole and an additional 24 residences will be red-tagged due to the loss of safe vehicular access.”
Cage, who is trying to save his $10.5 million mansion, reportedly filed three permits within days of the sinkhole’s emergence. One emergency building permit filed with city officials gave him permission to pack sandbags against the home’s exterior, as well as the beach area, to protect both from further coastal erosion.
There’s never a good time for a massive sinkhole to swallow your driveway, but this particular sinkhole happened to pop up at a particularly bad one.
Hurricane Marie
Shortly after the sinkhole developed, a powerful swell from Hurricane Marie “dramatically reshaped” several beaches in the Orange County area, FOX 11 reports.
Cage’s oceanfront property is in Los Angeles County, which is directly southeast of Orange County. The press release from the director of emergency services also warned that the forecasted El Niño — a type of weather event marked by unusually warm ocean temperatures — may also cause flooding that could potentially worsen the sinkhole.
The city red-tagged seven residences in Cage’s neighborhood because of damage caused by the sinkhole. It also red-tagged 24 more because the sinkhole made it impossible for emergency vehicles to access the homes, especially if it were to expand.
“It doesn’t appear that anybody was home,” said Rich Prickett, a reporter at KTLA when reporting on Cage’s house. “As a matter of fact, the house looks like it is under some sort of renovation.”
As he shared at Comic Con, Cage is living in hotels as he attempts to save his home, an effort that could potentially place him in a battle with his insurance provider.
