Landslide Crushes 15 Homes on California Coast
Date: 02-Jun-05
Country: USA
Police said 15 to 18 homes were destroyed or seriously damaged and about 20 others were destabilized by the slide that happened just before 7 a.m. as residents were getting up and preparing to go to work or school. Some escaped in their pajamas.
Some of the ocean-view homes -- many of them valued at more than $2 million -- slid intact down the hillside. Others cracked in half or were left tilting precariously on dirt piles as roads buckled, sidewalks disappeared and utility poles crashed onto cars.
Firefighters said no one was trapped and injuries were mainly cuts, scrapes and bruises as residents fled.
About 350 homes in the Bluebird Canyon area were evacuated while officials determined the possibility of further slippages in the area, about 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Los Angeles.
The landslide followed the heaviest winter rains in over a century in Southern California. Bluebird Canyon was also the site of a devastating landslide in 1978 in which dozens of homes were destroyed and damage ran into the millions of dollars.
"I would have to say that this is just Mother Nature," said Laguna Beach Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider.
Residents said the first indication of the impending disaster came at dawn in the form of strange popping or crackling sounds. Retired engineer Robert Pompeo told reporters he first thought it was gunshots.
Pompeo managed to drive away with his wife and two cats. Others were not so lucky, escaping with just the clothes on their backs and having to leave pets behind.
"People heard the noise and were very, very quick to get out of the area," said police Capt. Danell Adams.
Residents were told to make extended plans for temporary accommodation while safety inspectors prepared to comb the area.
"A geologist told me once that all hills want to be flat. Stuff happens. We'll figure it out one step at a time," shrugged one homeowner, who described the condition of his broken house as "terminal."
In January, a mudslide in the seaside community of La Conchita, 80 miles (130 km) north of Los Angeles, killed 10 people and swallowed up 15 houses. Many people have gone back to live in the area despite warnings from officials the hillside there will always be unstable.
