Global Courant
Twelve homes were evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates Saturday night after the ground shifted, creating large cracks and leaving some buildings “visibly askew.”
The cracks in the homes, which border a canyon on Peartree Lane, were visible on the outside as well as the inside, said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Chiyoshi Hasegawa. Investigators arrived on the scene around 4 p.m. Saturday.
LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, representing the area, called the incident “a major landslide” in a tweet Saturday night. She said sheriff’s deputies will patrol the area to make sure evacuated homes are safe.
Hasegawa disputed Hahn’s terminology, saying there was a “shift” in the ground under the houses and in the concrete of the road.
Hahn said she spoke to some residents who were being evacuated.
“Everyone is safe, but right now these houses are too unstable to enter,” she tweeted. “I have already spoken with our director of public works … and offer our full support to the city and our residents.”
It is not yet known what caused the ground to shift and the cracks to form.
About 16 people were evacuated. Liz Odendahl, Hahn’s director of communications, said they were all staying with relatives.
“She saw several houses leaning visibly,” Odendahl said of Hahn. “There was visible damage to houses.”
All homes were cut off from utilities to reduce the risk of fire, Hasegawa said.
“To be on the safe side, we evacuated them because it wouldn’t have been livable for them,” he said.
A specialist is expected to inspect the land to determine what will happen to the homes.
