Landslide: First Looks

Seventeen houses crashed down a hill as the earth gave way around daybreak June 1, 2005, in this upscale Orange County community. About 1,000 people in 350 other homes were evacuated as a precaution. The cause of the disaster was under investigation, but geologists said it was almost certainly related to winter storms that brought the area nearly double its usual yearly rainfall.

A Laguna Beach police officer checks residents returning to their homes following the landslide, June 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif.

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A home destroyed in the Laguna Beach, Calif., landslide is seen June 2, 2005.

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A neighborhood in Laguna Beach, Calif., is seen Jan. 14, 2005, and June 1, 2005, after the landslide struck.

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Millie Goldschmitt, who was one of the first people allowed to return home following the landslide in Laguna Beach, Calif., pets her dogs Clair, left, and Bandit, June 2, 2005. The dogs spent the night in a boarding facility. Her home apparently wasn't damaged in the landslide.

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Robert Power searches his home for his missing cat, June 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif. Authorities marked the home, where Power has lived for 35 years, as unsafe after the landslide.

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Emergency workers hike through the landslide area in Laguna Beach, Calif., June 2, 2005.

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Dawn Scherer, left, hugs her son David after returning to her daughter's house, which was red-tagged after the landslide, June 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif. After reviewing the damage, police reported that 22 homes had been red-tagged, or deemed uninhabitable with entry extremely limited. Seven of those were actually destroyed.

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Dawn Scherer reacts after recovering her cat from her daughter's house, a day after the landslide in Laguna Beach Calif., June 2, 2005.

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A cars teeters on buckled pavement, in Laguna Beach, Calif., June 2, 2005.

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Gas company employee Lori Smith coordinates the effort to find gas lines in the landslide area of Laguna Beach, Calif., June 2, 2005.

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Laguna Beach police officers walk past a downed utility pole, June 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif. Electricity was restored to most homes in the area a day after the landslide.

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Verizon phone company worker Kevin Petro surveys the landslide damage, June, 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif.

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Laguna Beach residents check a site map to see when they will be able to return to their homes following the landslide, June 2, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif.

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A police officer turns away a resident trying to return to her home in the landslide-damaged area of Laguna Beach, Calif., June 2, 2005.

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Haley Stevens, 14, uses crutches to make her way across Laguna Beach High School, which was being used as a temporary Red Cross evacuation center for landslide victims, June 1, 2005. Stevens suffered minor injuries while fleeing her home; four others were also slightly injured in the disaster.

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Stephen Huberty spends time with his son, Noah, 19 months, at the Red Cross evacuation center set up at Laguna Beach High School, June 1, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif. Huberty was just about to board a plane at John Wayne Airport when he received a call from his wife about the landslide. He said he wasn't sure if his house was OK or not.

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A house which slid down a hill in the landslide is visible from a nearby hilltop, June 1, 2005, in Laguna Beach, Calif.

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Orange County Sheriff's officers stop a resident from getting to his home in the landslide area in Laguna Beach, Calif., June 2, 2005.

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Jill Lockhart describes how she and her two sons fled her home, which was in the path of the landslide in Laguna Beach Calif., June 1, 2005.

Click here for more photos from the Laguna Beach landslide.