One of the areas most affected by the fires that are devastating the surroundings of Los Angeles is Malibu. Thousands of homes in this exclusive area have been seen devoured by flames.
But these days images have been released of a construction that, almost miraculously, has been left almost intact after the passage of the flames, while those around it burned to the ground.
The house, valued at nine million dollars, belongs to David Steiner a retired waste management businessman, who was not in the house at the time of the fire.
But the survival of the house, of 400 m2 and four bedrooms, has its explanation. According to Steiner, the property was built to withstand earthquakes. It has stucco and stone walls, a fireproof roof and piles driven 15 meters into the bedrock to help withstand possible strong waves coming from the beach.
“To be completely honest, never in a million years I thought a wildfire would come to the Pacific Coast Highway and cause a fire like that,” Steiner told New York Post this Friday.
“I thought, ‘If there’s ever an earthquake, this will be the last thing to get destroyed.’ I honestly didn’t think that if there was a fire, this would be the last thing to get destroyed. The architecture is pretty nice, but the stucco and fireproof roof are really nice” Steiner said.
Steiner, a native of Texas, said it was a complete shock to discover that his house had managed to survive the wildfires and believed it would have succumbed to the flames like many other houses. “It’s a miracle, miracles never stop”said.
The businessman thought his house had been devastated by flames, until his friends contacted him to tell him his house was “all over the news.” “I started receiving photos and I realized that we had moved forward“, said.
Steiner said he started receiving calls and text messages from friends after the devastating fires, but he downplayed luck. “It was not a happy moment, but i can replace it. “It’s not a person,” he said.
The miraculous Malibu house is not his family’s primary residence. “I didn’t have the memories of my family there,” he said, adding: “My heart truly goes out to those who lost everything.”
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