The Californian clifftop hut that went viral last week after images of it were posted on X has collapsed, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Exclusive photos from DailyMail.com show the wreckage of the three-story driftwood house that occupied a precarious position on the side of a steep cliff near Pacifica, California, until it was destroyed by a series of storms that hit the Golden State.
The shanty house, believed to be home to a hermit, previously had an enclosed room and a primitive deck containing chairs, various buoys and even a punching bag.
Now the chamber is torn open, exposing the blue tarpaulin from which it is made, as the remains of the collapsed deck stagger towards the Pacific Ocean. The fate of the person who built it with great difficulty is unknown.
BEFORE AND AFTER: The dilapidated three-storey structure on a treacherous cliff at Devil’s Slide has collapsed after being destroyed by a series of storms, exclusive images from DailyMail.com reveal.
The new footage from DailyMail.com, taken over the weekend, proves that the hut has indeed been destroyed and there is no sign of anyone still living there.
Photos show the wreckage of the driftwood house near Pacifica, California, with the roof torn open and the blue tarp exposed
The top floor has completely collapsed, while the wooden walls have fallen flat and are in danger of sliding into the water below.
Although a rope could still be seen leading up to the cliff, the house appeared deserted when DailyMail.com visited – with no trace of the loner said to live there.
To reach the cliff above the house, you’ll need to hike 1.5 miles on rugged trails – with the nearest access via the Pacific Coast Highway, near the entrance to the Devil’s Slide Trail.
Last week, Simon Casillas, the president of the Pacifica Land Trust, told the San Francisco Chronicle that authorities knew someone lived in the house, but he had no idea it had collapsed.
He said: ‘We knew there was something down there, but we didn’t know who it belonged to or whose property it was on.
‘It is located in a dangerous location that is not actually accessible.’
Casillas added: “We have not bothered anyone who wants to be a hermit. We know someone has been there, but we just don’t know who it is.
“That guy should just be left alone.”
The dilapidated three-story building was first spotted by a drone in December 2022 on a treacherous cliff at Devil’s Slide, near Pacifica.
The upper floor has collapsed, while the wooden walls have fallen flat and are in danger of sliding into the water below
To reach the cliff above the house, you’ll need to hike 1.5 miles on rugged trails – with the nearest access via the Pacific Coast Highway, near the entrance to the Devil’s Slide Trail
The barracks house previously had an enclosed area and a primitive deck with chairs, various buoys and even a punching bag.
The whereabouts of the hermit – if he indeed lived in the dilapidated building – is unknown. DailyMail.com could not find any record of a call to emergency services from the area in January, when it was believed to have collapsed due to winter storms.
The viral video of an intact home was shot in December 2022 — a month before a series of storms ravaged the Golden State.
On YouTube, users had already noted the December 2022 date of the video and wondered if it had survived, while someone named Dan Sullivan wrote: ‘This cabin has been there for many years but was almost destroyed during the winter of last year completely destroyed. is raining.
“This video was taken before last winter, or the cabin was rebuilt in recent months.”
The poster who uploaded the viral images, @ParallaxEffect, replied: “First of all, none of the images showed anyone present.
‘Secondly, the wind and waves in winter would erase this. It could already be gone, the images I shot are almost a year old.
“Third, the resources required to get all that material to that place, even if it is driftwood and ocean debris, are not superficial, nor are the skill and effort required to build the structure.
“I concluded, and I still conclude unless proven otherwise, that this was done as a project by someone or a group during the pandemic.”
The new footage from DailyMail.com, taken over the weekend, proves that the hut has indeed been destroyed and there is no sign of anyone still living there.