Also known as Dr. H, Robert Huizenga was the resident doctor on ‘The Biggest Loser’ reality-TV show for 17 seasons. He’s a former team physician for the Los Angeles Raiders and has authored three books. He was also a defense witness in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial.
On November 9, 2018, Robert and his fiancée, Raquel, were vacationing in France. Suddenly, they started getting multiple texts from friends asking about the safety of the animals they kept at their Malibu property. That’s how they found out their home was in danger.
“We had a friend that tried to rescue the turtles, but the pond water had heated up too much,” Robert said. “Four dogs were rescued by the housekeeper, but three cats died and a bunch of koi died in the ponds – but most of the turtles made it. Our friends were sending us pictures, and we went online after we heard there was a video on the TMZ (TV show) website.” Sitting at the computer, Robert and Raquel watched as their house burned down.
They immediately flew back from Paris the next morning, only to discover that the Sheriff’s Department had set up roadblocks and weren’t allowing anyone back into Malibu. Using his TV connections, Robert and Raquel hooked up with a camera crew from the syndicated “Inside Edition” TV show, who filmed them as they saw their house for the first time after the fire.
“It showed us looking kind of vulnerable, but at least it got us back to the property [getting past the Sheriff’s roadblock]. It was really emotional,” Robert said.
“Inside Edition” promoted the story by announcing, “Return to the Ashes: the TV doctor finds his mansion in ruins. There’s heartbreak for celebrity Dr. Huizenga. We’re there as he and his fiancée arrive for the first time amid powerful gusty winds to see that nothing remains of his once stunning $10 million mansion. The seven bedroom estate is now a burned-out skeleton. Searching through the debris, he finds s a lockbox with his diplomas in that’s still warm [from the fire].”
At that time, Robert says, “We saw some little knick-knacks and could see some stuff, but we weren’t dressed for a smoldering fire so we couldn’t go ‘treasure hunting’ yet. The first couple days, I saw deer with burned patches, and the mice got flushed out of the canyon and were going after rubber in the car engines, because there was nothing else for them to eat.”
Huizenga’s property incorporated three buildings with a pool, pond, and a number of rooftop water features. Robert says that, unfortunately, the caretaker couldn’t figure out how the water system worked. Otherwise, a trained person might have had a shot at saving the house with that water.
As he later discovered, “In the primary residence, everything we owned got burned. The housekeeper took the dogs and that was it – nothing else.” Among the items lost: a Super Bowl ring and other LA Raiders memorabilia, court drawings from the O. J. Simpson murder trial, and the medals from his college days as an All-American wrestler.
“One of the guest houses made it through the fire. We hope to rebuild and make it better than ever, but it’ll take a long time with all the crazy rules and regulations,” he said, referring to the county building permit process.
“The insurance was good, but it didn’t cover all the antiques, paintings and jewelry. We had acres of landscaping and trees; all that burned down, and that’s not covered by insurance. You always take a big hit no matter what,” Robert said. “Later, we found some marble statues. But even the safes were gutted inside and everything was burnt. You’d see little corners of dollar bills inside, which was all that was left after the rest of the bill had been incinerated.”
“We’ve transitioned to the Hollywood Hills for now, but it’s pretty depressing,” he said. “It takes time to get the water well and gas up and going at the property, and there’s no power and no running water yet. It’s like being in the middle of the Amazon with nothing from the modern era.”
“But we just had one of the largest blooming wildflower seasons ever – so nature takes away and then it gives back.”
