Power to be cut indefinitely at 140 Rancho Palos Verdes homes after land movement: "Such a dangerous situation"
People living in the Portuguese Bend Community Association neighborhood in Rancho Palos Verdes will soon be without power after SoCal Edison determined that they would need to do so for a "public safety threat" because of the constantly moving land in the area.
As a result, city officials issued an evacuation warning to residents in the impacted area early Saturday. They were advised to seek alternative housing and pack their important documents, medications and any other essential items.
"SCE has determined there is a public safety threat," the city said. "Electricity service will be discontinued in these zones effective Sunday, September 1 at 12 p.m. PST."
They also warned residents from using water or pluming after the power is shut off due to the threat of a possible sewer spill.
"We know this is a difficult time for Rancho Palos Verdes and we've been looking for ways that we can keep the power safely flowing. At this point land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes has created such a dangerous situation that we must make the difficult decision to disconnect power to 140 residential customers indefinitely at 12 p.m. tomorrow to keep that community safe," said SoCal Edison Spokesperson Reggie Kumar.
They referred to a fire that broke out in the neighborhood last week, on Narcissa Drive, that they say "demonstrated that we cannot mitigate the public safety risk from the land movement in the area we are disconnecting."
"Since the accelerated land movement continues to damage our electric equipment, we need to turn off power to keep the public safe," the statement also said.
Related: Rancho Palos Verdes faces deeper, larger landslide threat, city report says
This is just the latest in a string of blows to the Portuguese Bend community after they were hit by considerable landslides late last year after heavy rain soaked Southern California. Geologists say that the land hasn't stopped moving since, sometimes sliding up to a foot a week.
In July, SoCalGas announced that they would also be shutting off their service to the area "due to the worsening land movement." In that instance, more than 130 homes had their natural gas cut off, despite requests to reconsider from neighbors and city officials alike.
Mayor John Cruikshank said at the time that he was worried the gas service would be the first domino to fall, a prediction that ended up being correct.
"If electricity and water were to shut off their service, then you're really talking about people being forced to leave their homes," he said in July.
On Saturday, he noted that the problem has gotten much more substantial.
"The problem is much bigger than the city of Rancho Palos Verdes can solve," Cruikshank said while speaking with KCAL News. "We need help."
In the weeks since gas was shut off, city leaders and community members have held a number of public meetings with service providers and geologists to try and find a solution to the growing issue.
City leaders declared a local emergency due to the movement last year, as the significant movement caused some streets to crack and some homes to shift off their foundations. The famous Wayfarer's Chapel was forced to close its doors in February because of damage it suffered from the landslides.
Emergency assistance is available at the Ladera Linda Community Center on Forrestal Drive starting on Sunday at 11 a.m., officials said.
More information on the impacted residences can be found at the Rancho Palos Verdes city website.