Six weeks after a Malibu sinkhole, 31 households are still locked out. Here's what's next

The private road near Lechuza Beach is still impassable, a new contractor has just signed on, and a stormy El Niño winter is on the way.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 19, 2026

For 31 households on a quiet beach road at the western edge of Malibu, the wait to go home has now stretched past six weeks, and the next step is still only a plan for a plan.

A sinkhole opened on Sea Level Drive, near Lechuza Beach off Broad Beach Road, early on Sept. 8. It was reported at about 5:45 a.m., Westside Current reported, citing the city. City documents describe a hole roughly 25 to 30 feet deep and 30 by 60 feet wide near 31630 Sea Level Drive, and say the conditions behind it likely began developing the day before.

The collapse took out the only road in and out of the neighborhood. The same day, Malibu's director of emergency services proclaimed a local emergency and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the western portion of the street, from 31615 Sea Level Drive to the end, according to a city council report. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was directed to enforce it.

Why 31 homes

According to the city, seven homes were red-tagged because of hazards from the sinkhole itself. Another 24 were red-tagged because they lost safe vehicle access. The intact part of the road is too narrow for fire engines and other large emergency vehicles, the city said, which is why homes that were not physically damaged were still ordered empty.

Utilities went next. SoCalGas shut off gas after a leak, and Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 cut water service to avoid main breaks, Westside Current reported. Malibu.FM reported that gas, electric and water service are all off to the subdivision, and the Los Angeles Times reported that the road remains impassable to any vehicle. No injuries were reported.

A timeline that keeps slipping

The first estimate was about five weeks of repairs, Westside Current reported on Sept. 9. A week later, Malibu.FM reported it could take another four weeks to finish emergency work on the roughly 60 feet of road undermined by the ocean.

That window has passed. At an Oct. 12 City Council meeting, city building official Yolanda Bundy said the first contractor hired by the homeowners association had been terminated and a new local contractor had signed on, Malibu.FM reported. Bundy said the road has been secured but not repaired.

"We are hearing from homeowners every day who want to go back in," Bundy said, according to Malibu.FM. "It is at the top of all of our priorities to get those families home."

Malibu.FM reported it may be another two weeks before residents even get an estimate of when they can move back.

Who is fixing it

Sea Level Drive is a private street. According to the Los Angeles Times, the city says the Sea Level Drive Homeowners Association is responsible for repairs, with the city issuing permits. The Times reported that the city has granted 14 permits to Sea Level Drive residents over the last two months as neighbors try to limit damage from high tides and rain.

Four of those permits went to actor Nicolas Cage, whose oceanfront home sits above the collapse, according to the Times. The 25-foot-deep hole swallowed his driveway, the Times reported, and Malibu.FM reported the home also lost its septic tank. The Times said Cage's permits, totaling $3,158, cover excavation for a soil sample, debris removal and sandbags to protect the property from waves and erosion.

More trouble along the coast

The sinkhole is not Malibu's only coastal worry. The city declared a state of emergency on Oct. 7 as a preventive measure ahead of an expected El Niño winter, the Times reported.

"El Niño's impacts are already being felt," Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in the declaration, according to the Times.

After a surf storm on top of record-high tides, the city red-tagged two more oceanfront homes on Pacific Coast Highway when their supporting piers washed out, Malibu.FM reported on Oct. 12. The number of eastern Malibu properties with "concerning" beach erosion and drainage problems grew from 56 to 78, according to city officials quoted by Malibu.FM.

Why it matters across LA County

• El Niño risk: In its September proclamation, Malibu cited a NOAA forecast of a greater than 90% chance of a very strong El Niño, which the city said brings a high risk of record sea levels and coastal flooding.
• Shared services: County agencies, from the Sheriff's Department to Waterworks District 29, are part of the response.
• PCH: Erosion is also threatening Pacific Coast Highway, the main route for coastal commuters and beachgoers, including near Point Mugu just over the Ventura County line, Malibu.FM reported.

What to watch

• The new contractor's repair plan and an estimated return date, expected in the coming weeks.
• Whether the mandatory evacuation order and red tags are lifted or narrowed.
• How the beachfront holds up as winter storms and high tides arrive.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: BriYYZ, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

• Los Angeles Times: Nicolas Cage battles sinkhole that threatened his Malibu home
• Malibu.FM: Sea Level Drive homeowners face two more weeks of uncertainty
• Malibu.FM: Two more Malibu oceanfront homes red-tagged after surf storm
• Malibu.FM: Sea Level Drive repairs may take another four weeks
• Westside Current: Sinkhole keeps Malibu evacuations in place, with repairs expected to take five weeks
• City of Malibu: Proclamation of Existence of Local Emergency, Sea Level Drive sinkhole
• City of Malibu: Council agenda report, confirmation of Sea Level Drive evacuation order (Sept. 14, 2026)