After mudslide assessment in Placer County, officials downgrade evacuation notice
COLFAX – After a mudslide forced evacuation notices in Placer County, a team of experts is assessing the cause and just how safe is the ground alongside a hill.
On Tuesday, a mudslide slammed into a house on Ben Taylor Road. No one was injured. Experts visited the site Wednesday to also examine whether it had grown.
"That's one of the things we're trying to find out with the weather forecast and more rain coming," said Matt Randall, an engineering manager for the Placer County Public Works Department.
Cal Fire said the debris flow is approximately 200 feet wide and just under 300 feet long mid-slope.
A team of geologists, geotechnical surveyors and engineers from all levels of government examined the hill on Park Hill Road. To maintain access, Cal Fire brought a dozer out again to help clear the road.
Recently, the fire agency said it has seen multiple small slides and washes in the foothills.
"With the sun out, it is helping the situation," said Battalion Chief Nolan Hale. "It's just going to be weather dependent."
Randall told CBS13 rain is a factor, but it also considers soil type, water in the mud and whether groundwater plays a role.
The mudslide did not happen anywhere near burn scar areas.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Placer County Sheriff's Office downgraded the evacuation order to a warning for the three homes on Ben Taylor Road. However, the damaged home has been deemed uninhabitable.