A Malibu oceanfront mansion reportedly linked to Nicolas Cage was damaged Tuesday morning when a massive sinkhole collapsed its driveway as coastal erosion tore into the shoreline beneath it.
Crews were sent to the home in the 31600 block of Sea Level Drive around 5:45 a.m. after reports of a suspected gas main break. By the time responders arrived, the driveway had given way and the ground under it had been washed out, leaving the property exposed to the erosion that had already broken a water line and a gas line.
The house has become a fast-moving safety problem, not just a property-damage story. Southern California Gas Company shut off the gas Tuesday morning, and the City of Malibu said its Building Safety Division was working with the utility to assess the situation. Officials red tagged five homes, meaning entry was prohibited, and later issued an evacuation order for the affected properties.
The mismatch between the first report and what crews found matters. The emergency call pointed to a possible gas main break, but the visible damage at the scene was tied to coastal erosion, which had been pressing into Malibu after the remnants of Hurricane Marie brought high surf and flooding to the coast over the weekend.
The size of the damage to the mansion itself remains unclear beyond the collapsed driveway, but the consequences are already plain: no entry for five homes, utility shutoffs and a full safety review in a neighborhood where the ground gave way before the structure did. Cage bought the four-level, nearly 4,000-square-foot home for $10.5 million in 2024, and the next step is an assessment that will determine whether the surrounding area can be made safe enough for residents to return.
