Alert – Mel Gibson’s $14.5m Malibu mansion burned down while he was filming Joe Rogan’s podcast as actor recalls returning home to ‘nothing’ – as devastating wildfires continue to rage through LA

Mel Gibson recalled returning home to ‘nothing’ after his $14.5million Malibu mansion burned down while he was filming Joe Rogan’s podcast in Austin, Texas.

The 69-year-old actor shared his devastation after his home was burned down by the horror wildfires, in an emotional interview on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports.

While he was filming the podcast, Mel said he knew his neighbourhood was on fire but was wondering if his home was still standing.

Mel began: ‘Obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional.’

He added: ‘I was doing the Rogan podcast… And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighbourhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. 

‘But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there. I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.

Mel Gibson, 69, recalled returning home to ‘nothing’ after his $14.5million Malibu mansion burned down while he was filming Joe Rogan’s podcast in Austin, Texas

Mel has been trying to sell his sprawling mansion for years, and even knocked $3million off the listing price

‘I had a lot of personal things there that, you know, I can’t get back…

‘All kinds of stuff, everything from photographs to files to, you know, you know, just personal things that I had from over the years, and clothing, you know, pretty cool stuff, you know, but you know that can all be replaced. 

‘These are only things. And the good, the good news is that, you know, those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way, that’s all I can care about, really.’

Mel has been trying to sell his sprawling mansion for years, and even knocked $3million off the listing price.

The sprawling property, built in 1996, was purchased by the Oscar winner in 2008 for a cool $11.5 million and boasted five-bedroom, as well as a majestic old world feel including a castle style turret.

Mel shared disturbing visions of fire and brimstone when he appeared on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

The actor-turned-filmmaker warned the controversial podcaster that society was heading toward a ‘collapse’ while discussing the fires that have devastated several neighbourhoods around Greater Los Angeles and left other celebrities without homes.

Mel also included plenty of criticism for California Governor Gavin Newsom for failing to ‘take care of the forest and maintain the forest,’ though the current fires all started in urban environments.

The actor said he is ‘devastated’ that his home has been torn down by the horror wildfires in an emotional interview on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports 

While he was filming the podcast, Mel said he knew his neighbourhood was on fire but was wondering if his home was still standing 

Mel began: ‘Obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional. I was doing the Rogan podcast… And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighbourhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there’

According to the Passion Of The Christ director, ‘All those earmarks, the precursors of a collapse, they’re present in our time. It doesn’t take long.’

Mel referred in his chat to Jared Diamond’s 2011 book Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed.

‘It says all the things you need for a civilization to cave in and collapse,’ Gibson said of the book. ‘It’s an interesting observation. And we’re no smarter than our grandparents.’

The Mad Max star said his son Milo — who is in the volunteer fire brigade in Malibu — sent him a video of his neighbourhood ‘in flames,’ which made it resemble an ‘inferno.’

He isn’t in any danger of being homeless, though, as he boasted he has another home in Costa Rica.

‘I love it there,’ he said after Joe asked if the ongoing fires would be the final straw for him to finally move out of California.

Later, Mel joked that he might get ‘a new house’ out of the crisis.

Ironically, the restaurant and bar where Mel got drunk before his infamous antisemitic rant in 2006, Moonshadows Malibu, was a victim of the blaze, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The LA fires which have left many celebrities without a home  (a firefighter is seen attempting to extinguish a fire on a beachfront property in Malibu on Thursday)

Joe Rogan (pictured) asked if this would be the final straw for him to finally move out of the state of California, but Mel replied: ‘I’ve got a place in Costa Rica — I love it there’

Mel reserved much of his fury for the blazes for California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

‘I think Newsom said, “I’m gonna take care of the forest and maintain the forest and do all that kinda stuff” — he didn’t do anything,’ he complained.

The Braveheart director agreed with the host before joking: ‘I think all our tax dollars probably went to Gavin’s hair gel.’ 

Joe chimed in that he believes that the California Governor had put tax dollars toward supporting the homeless  population instead of fire prevention. 

The death toll of the historic infernos have now reached 10, as heroic firefighters still battle hellish conditions on the front lines of at least five different fires. 

Apocalyptic fires tore through the tony enclave of Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, rapidly spreading to surrounding suburbs as a windstorm sometimes reaching up to 100 mph carried embers and debris in all directions.

Residents fled and then waited with bated breath to learn more about their homes, as news began trickling out that entire streets had been wiped off the map, firefighters were running out of water after destroyed infrastructure prevented more from being pumped up hill and resources were being diverted to fight the fire on multiple fronts.

According to LAist, the demand for water during the firefight was four times usual levels, which made it impossible to refill water tanks quickly enough to increase water pressure, even though the water never ran out. 

Wildfires which began on Tuesday have continued to ravage the City of Angels, so far claiming six lives

A structure is burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles

Mel’s interview comes as large swathes of the city remained engulfed by the flames which have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. 

On Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tried to deflect criticism that fire hydrants rans dry by insisting they were filled, but simply were not designed to cope with a disaster of this scale.

Although water supplies faltered due to burst pipes and extreme demand, the fire was fueled by dry vegetation and extreme winds, which had gusts of 80 to 100 mph.

It’s unclear if more water would have had much of an impact on the blaze, as burning embers flew miles from their origins after being carried by the hurricane-force winds, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bass’ comments came as the fires continued to burn for the third consecutive day, with the Pacific Palisades blaze becoming the most devastating in the county’s history.

Almost 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, with hundreds of thousands still without power.