Owner of the £8 million Malibu property David Steiner thought the home would survive an earthquake but was amazed it is still standing after a fire obliterated everything else on the street
An £8million Malibu mansion has astonishingly survived the devastating Los Angeles wildfires – while all other houses on the street were destroyed.
The luxurious three-story home of David Steiner, a retired water-management businessman, remained standing despite his neighbours’ properties turning to ash and rouble as the fires ripped through.
While described Steiner described his plush pad as a “miracle”, it’s no accident the 4,200 square foot four bedroom home remained intact. The retiree said the house was built to endure earthquakes, and came with stucco and stone walls, a fireproof roof and pilings driven 50ft into bedrock to withstand movement below.
Speaking to the New York Post, he said: “To be totally honest with you, I never in a million years thought a wildfire would jump to the Pacific Coast Highway and start a fire.
“I thought, ‘If we ever have an earthquake, this would be the last thing to go.’ I honestly didn’t think that if we had a fire, it would be the same. The architecture is pretty nice. But the stucco and fireproof roof are real nice.”
Texas-native Steiner said was completely shocked to discover his home had survived the wildfires, as he though it would have been destroyed by the flames like many others.
“It’s a miracle – miracles never cease,” he said.
The 64-year-old had been receiving updates about his home when he was sent a video from a local contractor who had been monitoring the fire. The video showed flames licking the edges of Steiner’s home, which was empty, having razed the surrounding houses earlier.
Steiner said: “[The contractor] was watching the news reports and saw my neighbour’s house going down and told me, ‘It looks like your house is going, too.’
“It looked like nothing could have possibly survived that, and I thought we had lost the house.”
However, when photos started to appear showing his home was still standing, amongst rubble, he “realised we had made it through”, however he was quick to down play his luck, as the property is not Steiner’s main residence.
He said “It wasn’t a happy time, but I can replace it. It’s not a person.
“I was getting texts from people saying, ‘We’re praying for you. It’s so horrible’. ‘I said, ‘Don’t pray for me – what I lost is material goods.’ … I lost a property, but others lost their homes. I didn’t have my family’s mementos there. My heart truly goes out to those who lost everything.”
He continued: “My wife sent me something this morning that said, ‘Last house standing,’ and it brought a pretty big smile to my face at a pretty bad time.”