Storm causes Laurel Canyon home to crack, shift off foundation

A Laurel Canyon resident was displaced by Thursday's powerful storm, when his home shifted off of its foundation, creating a dangerous predicament as the home sits atop a steep cliff. 

"The house cracked and shifted," said Rick Charnoski, who rents the home with his girlfriend. "We are on a very narrow cliff."

He said that they could hear the house pop overnight, even feeling the force of the event, but were completely unaware of the damage until Thursday morning. 

"Basically, it feels like the house could fall off the hill," Charnoski said.

Video of the home shows noticeable damage to the structure, which now appears to be lopsided after a powerful storm doused the entire Southland. 

"It wasn't until this morning that we went outside and looked at the house and were absolutely shocked to see how much it had cracked," he said. 

Charnoski's video shows him walking around the perimeter of the home, noting each broken barrier and wall impacted by the shift of the land. 

City officials are aware of the trouble spot, closing down part of Laurel Canyon Boulevard Wednesday morning to prepare the roads for heavy water flow as an atmospheric river descended on the area. Los Angeles Department of Transportation crews lined the street with K-Rails, hoping to prevent a similar instance to the landslide in 2017, which left the area inaccessible for weeks.

Even so, neither the city nor Charnoski's landlord have offered assistance to the couple, despite the obvious danger and damage to their living situation. 

"The city at this point is not claiming responsibility for it. Our landlord of our house is not claiming responsibility for it."

A spokesperson for LA Public Works said that they aren't responsible for servicing privately owned properties. They also said it's unclear if the road leading up to the home is under city jurisdiction. 

"It's incredibly frustrating," Charnoski said. "To be living in a place paying rent, or paying a mortgage, or paying property taxes and you're living in an unsafe environment and the people that you're paying aren't doing anything to help you."