Multiple homes impacted by mudflow in La Cañada Flintridge neighborhood
Multiple homes were affected by a mudflow that occurred Sunday afternoon in a La Cañada Flintridge neighborhood after the Southland was doused by a powerful winter storm.
At least two homes at the bottom of the hill were damaged by the mudslide, which happened when the earth behind a home on Noren Street gave way, flowing down the hillside and into homes in the 400 block of Paulette Place at around 4:15 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Officials yellow-tagged two homes at the bottom of the mudflow Monday morning. Firefighters had already strongly recommended the family of three living in the most damaged of the homes move out for now.
The mudslide began at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Fire crews were dispatched to the scene to assist.
At least one family was home when the torrent of mud came down. Mud partially entered one room where a 14-year-old boy was sleeping.
"Two feet from his literal head where he was sleeping, the mud is like three feet away. It's terrifying," said homeowner Gevorg Terteryan. "I don't wish this experience on my worst enemy."
Three rooms in the back are believed to be a total loss, and an exterior wall collapsed. Terteryan's house and the house next door were both yellow-tagged Monday, allowing only limited access.
There were concerns about further slippage with more rain on the way Monday. Engineering crews were assessing the hillside Monday morning.
Building and Safety Division personnel were assessing the structural integrity of a home at the top of the hillside, and the safety of the hillside of itself.
"I'm very worried. It's not just me, it's everybody's worried around here," said Terteryan. "If that hill keeps coming down -- there are two giant pools up there."
One family said the sound of the mudslide was so loud that they thought an earthquake was happening. They said that the first mudslide, which occurred at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, was loud enough to wake them from their sleep.
By late Sunday afternoon, several feet of thick mud had made their way into the backrooms of the home, taking out the rear wall in the process.
"Seeing the damage inside the house, I was surprised no one was inured," said neighbor Nicole Pitsos.
"It appears that there is major damage to the rear of the affected structure," said LACoFD Battalion Chief Pat Sprengel. "The portion of the hillside that came down was a very large portion, probably about 40 feet wide that came down, with a large amount of material."
Firefighters remained on scene Sunday night into Monday due to the impending threat of another potential slide, with wood, cement and what looked to be a broken retaining wall precariously perched on the hillside behind the home.
Neighbors banded together to help the families move as much as they could from inside of the home Sunday evening.
Crews from Los Angeles Department of Public Works, the home's gas company and SoCal Edison were also sent to the scene to investigate the damage.
Paul Gilbert, who has lived on the street for 20 years, said that this is the first instance involving the hillside that he can remember.
"Ever since the rain hit it's just been constant water coming down," Gilbert said. "We're worried about our neighbors across the street, but they've been safe. It's something we wanna watch cause we don't want the houses up there to come down further."
One other home, located at the top of the hill where the earth gave way, suffered minor damage in the slide.
"It's really scary, looking at it and realizing that you could be sleeping at night and something like that could literally just come through and destroy your house," said J.T. Vanvaler, who lives in one of the affected homes.
