In an extraordinary scene amid devastation, David Steiner’s $9 million Malibu mansion stood intact while surrounding properties fell victim to raging wildfires. The three-story home, designed for disaster resilience with fire-resistant features, astounded Steiner, a former waste management mogul, who initially feared total loss. Despite witnessing nearby destruction, Steiner received uplifting news and support as images of his surviving home circulated. The wildfires devastated thousands of buildings, claiming at least 10 lives and displacing many. While Steiner felt gratitude for his home’s survival, he remained empathetic to those who lost everything, emphasizing that material possessions can be replaced.
In a scene that looks like something out of a disaster movie, a house appears to stand alone, untouched, in a sea of smoldering ruins.
The $9 million Malibu mansion belongs to David Steiner, a former waste management magnate from Texas who is married and the father of three children.
Incredibly, Steiner’s three-story home defiantly remained intact as the Los Angeles wildfires consumed everything around it and reduced neighborhoods to ashes.
The building’s shining white appearance stood out against the background of destruction. But he believes it’s no coincidence that Steiner’s 4,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home survived.
The property is designed to withstand earthquakes and features ultra-tough construction, including stucco and stone walls, a fire-resistant roof, and pilings driven 50 feet into the bedrock to withstand the crashing waves below.
“I’ll be honest with you, never in a million years did I think a wildfire would spread and ignite the Pacific Coast Highway,” Steiner said. said new york post on friday.
“I thought, ‘If an earthquake happens, this is the last time.'” Honestly, I didn’t think it would be the last time I was there if the fire broke out. The architecture is very nice. But the stucco and fireproof roof is really nice. ”
But the fireproof design appears to have proven its worth as a fortress against flames.
A house appears to stand alone, untouched, in a sea of smoldering ruins from the Palisades fire in Malibu, California.
The $9 million Malibu mansion belongs to David Steiner, a former waste management mogul from Texas who is married and the father of three children.
Steiner’s house appeared to be the only unlikely survivor along a devastated coastline.
I was in complete shock when I found out that my house unexpectedly survived the hell.
“This is a miracle. Miracles never stop,” the 64-year-old said.
After being informed Tuesday of the potential destruction of his waterfront property, Steiner thought his property would have been consumed by the flames like many others.
He received video from a local contractor who was monitoring the Palisades Fire break-in.
Footage showed flames burning at the edge of Steiner’s vacant home, already consuming a nearby multimillion-dollar home.
‘[The contractor] As he was watching the news reports, he saw his neighbor’s house collapse and said to me, “It looks like your house is collapsing, too,” Steiner recalled.
The video depicted a dire situation with thick smoke, roaring flames, and devastation everywhere.
“I thought I was homeless because I didn’t think I was going to survive that,” he admitted.
The three-story house appears largely untouched, even though the fire destroyed everything around it.
This aerial photo taken from a helicopter shows destroyed homes in the Palisades Fire in the Malibu area of Los Angeles County, California.
Mr. Steiner was humbled that his home had survived, especially since it was not the retired executive’s main asset and had no valuable family memorabilia.
But surprisingly, the Steiner family seemed to emerge as the unlikely sole survivor.
“People started contacting me and saying, ‘Your house is full of news,'” Steiner said.
Photos began pouring in showing the imposing white structure still standing, surrounded by charred rubble.
“Once we started taking pictures, we realized what we had accomplished,” he said.
Despite the miraculous survival of his fortune, Steiner is quick to downplay his good fortune.
“It wasn’t a happy time,” he said of watching the hell unfold. “But I can replace it. It’s not a person.
Mr Steiner said he had received an outpouring of support from friends and acquaintances during this ordeal, with many expressing sadness at what they thought was a complete loss.
From the air, the devastation is complete, except for a few houses that survived the fire.
Parts of Malibu’s coastline are in ruins, smoke fills the sky and a pungent odor fills nearly every building.
“I’ve gotten messages from people saying, ‘We’re praying for you.’ It’s so awful,” he said.
But his response was humbling. “I said, ‘Don’t pray for me. What I’ve lost is material things.’ …I lost my property, and some people lost their homes. ”
Steiner explained that while his Malibu home is important, it is not his home base.
He bought the house many years ago when his two sons were attending school in the area, but the family no longer uses the place regularly.
“There were no family memorabilia there,” he said, adding: “My heart goes out to those who lost everything.”
“My wife sent me something this morning that said ‘Last home left’ and it put a big smile on my face at a really bad time,” he said. .
A raging fire in the Los Angeles area has reduced some 10,000 buildings to ashes and rubble, killed at least 10 people, displaced thousands, and spread the flames across an area larger than San Francisco.
A raging fire in the Los Angeles area has reduced some 10,000 buildings to ashes and rubble, killed at least 10 people, displaced thousands, and spread the flames across an area larger than San Francisco.
View of burned buildings on Topanga Beach during the Palisades wildfire in Topanga, Los Angeles
Buildings along the coast were badly burned, with nothing left except the steel frames.
The devastation of the Eaton Fire is shown in the Altadena area Friday.
Kenneth Snowden (left) surveys damage to fire-ravaged property with his brother Ronnie after the Eaton fire.
A charred car is left inside a dealership in the aftermath of Friday’s Eaton fire.
The fire started on Tuesday with gusty Santa Ana winds and abated on Thursday, but forecasters warn it could pick up steam again later this weekend.
Los Angeles city and county officials said Friday that the fire that hit the Palisades was 8% contained, but the fire raging in Altadena was only 3% contained.
The full death toll is not yet clear, but authorities said at least 10 people died, including two in the coastal Palisades fire and five inland in the Eaton fire.
The economic impact of the damage is not yet clear, but AccuWeather, a private company that provides weather data, estimates the damage to be around $135 billion to $150 billion. Government authorities have not yet released the damage amount.
More than 5,300 structures were damaged or destroyed in the coastal hills of the Pacific Palisades, making it the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history.
Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble, leaving only the outlines of houses and chimneys.
Among those whose homes were destroyed were many celebrities, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal.