Not on the record The business tycoon explains how the “miracle” house in Los Angeles survived the wildfires “untouched.”
Despite the fact that his neighbors’ buildings were reduced to rubble, a US businessman has given an explanation for why he thinks his property was spared from the Los Angeles wildfires.
On his land, David Steiner’s $9 million Malibu mansion is the only structure still standing after his neighborhood was decimated by the Palisades fire.
Three of the eight fires that were raging across Los Angeles County have already been extinguished by firefighters, but the original fire devastated over 20,000 acres.
More than 5,000 homes and businesses have also been destroyed; Sky News claims that this was the “biggest” to date.
Authorities say strong winds and a lack of rain have exacerbated the Kenneth fire, which threatens homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills, but they believe the fire was intentional. After allegedly being detained by others until the police arrived, a man was taken into custody on suspicion of arson.
Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, Eugene Levy, and Billy Crystal are among the celebrities who have lost their homes in recent days as the infernos continue to wreak devastation on Los Angeles.
When Steiner learned that his property had escaped the area’s engulfing, rising flames, he was shocked.
Upon receiving a video of smoke and flames tearing through the street via email from a local contractor on Tuesday, January 7, the retired waste-management tycoon thought his three-story house—which was vacant at the time—was doomed.
“It looks like your house is going too,” Steiner told the New York Post, “when [the contractor] saw my neighbor’s house falling apart while watching the news reports.”
After that, people began calling the New Orleans business magnate to inform him that his “house was all over the news,” but not for the reason he had expected.
The mansion was seen rising like a phoenix from the ashes, soaring tall across from its destroyed neighbors.
Steiner went on, “I realized we had survived when I started receiving pictures.” The words “Last house standing” were in an email my wife sent me this morning. Additionally, it made me grin a lot during a difficult moment.
The 4,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home was “built like a cruise ship,” according to him, and he thinks that’s what made it resilient to the devastating fire.
“It was constructed to withstand earthquakes and has a ‘ultra-sturdy construction,'” the father of three stated.
According to Steiner, “it’s made of stone and stucco and has a fireproof roof.” It also has pilings “like 50 feet into the bedrock” that keep it stable when powerful waves slam in.
“I never in a million years imagined that a wildfire would leap to the Pacific Coast Highway and start a fire,” Steiner added. This would be the last thing to go in the event of an earthquake, I reasoned. It never occurred to me that this would be the final thing to go in the event of a fire. It was, too.
“The architecture is rather lovely. The stucco and fireproof roof, however, are really lovely.
He is thankful that his mansion survived the fire, but he also understands that he is among the fortunate individuals in Los Angeles right now.
Since Steiner purchased the pad after two of his sons had already started attending local schools, his house was not his family’s permanent residence.
People were texting me to say, ‘We’re praying for you,’ he added. It’s just awful. “Don’t pray for me; material goods are what I lost,” I said. While some people lost their houses, I lost a property. I didn’t have any memories of my family there. It wasn’t the house of my family. My sympathies are with those who have lost their homes.
Even though he has insurance, the billionaire said, it would only “cover 50% for a wildfire,” and he believes there will have been some smoke damage to his estate.