A gas leak occurred and a sinkhole appeared at a Los Angeles-area home linked to actor Nicolas Cage.
Local officials have declared an emergency and banned entry to 31 homes.
The gas leak and driveway collapse occurred at a home along Sea Level Drive in Malibu, 25 miles west of Los Angeles, at around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, city officials said on social media. No injuries were reported.
The hole is as much as 30 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide, Malibu officials said in their emergency declaration. The 31 homes were red-tagged, meaning they’re unsafe for occupation and need to be evacuated.
The home where the sinkhole opened up in the driveway is owned by actor Nicolas Cage, according to real estate records cited by the Los Angeles Times.
The roadway, which is private, was closed off, and Los Angeles County fire officials and sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene. The Southern California Gas Co. also sent workers to the site to help plug the gas leak, Malibu officials said.
City officials said they declared a state of emergency because conditions are expected to get worse due to high tides and rain associated with Hurricane Marie. In addition, the part of Sea Level Drive that has not collapsed “is too narrow to accommodate emergency response vehicles,” city officials said.
Malibu public information officer Matt Myerhoff told the California Post that repairs were started within hours of the sinkhole being found, but “we don’t have any estimates on how long that might take, or how much that might cost.”
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