Gerard Butler’s Malibu home still isn’t ready to be rebuilt almost a year on from the California wildfire.
The 49-year-old actor lost his property in the devastating Woolsey Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes last November, and the ‘Angel Has Fallen’ star has opened up about the long and "emotional experience" of preparing his home for rebuild.
Gerard explained: "It’s taking its time.
"It’s a very sad and emotional experience when you walk down to your house and you see it still burning, you know, or part of it is. I lost part of it and … all the land that’s gone as well.
"You go, ‘Okay, I’ll rebuild,’ but then it takes so long just to get the clearances because of the toxicity and before they can even clear out the rubble you need permits for that and then the foundations are gone so you’ve got to dig out the foundations and then they’ve got to take the topsoil off.
He added: "So it’s a long time before you even get close to planning and starting to rebuild, so we still haven’t started to rebuild."
The ‘300’ actor was also involved in a nasty crash last October, when he was riding his bike around Los Angeles and a woman ploughed into him, sending him flying through the air.
Although he managed to escape the ordeal with just a fractured foot and a few cuts and bruises, Gerard says having the fire and accident so close together made him "reevaluate" everything.
Speaking on ‘Extra’, he added: "These last two years, they were interesting and hard.
"A lot of stuff happened like the fire, motorcycle accident, other stuff went on, and a lot of it happened very close together and it just made me reevaluate."
Gerard quickly turned his attention towards helping to fund the rebuilding process throughout the Malibu community and also hosted a star-studded fundraiser – which was attended by the likes of Jamie Foxx, Sean Penn, Cindy Crawford, Minnie Driver, The Edge and Robin Thicke – for The Malibu Foundation.
The foundation was created by a group of Malibu residents that included former couple Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth – who also lost their property.
Gerard Butler’s Malibu home still not ready to be rebuilt after wildfire
