$2M California home spared from wildfires is destroyed by landslide
A California home worth around $2 million has been wrecked by a landslide, having been left fortuitously unscathed from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
The one-story oceanfront property in Pacific Palisades was split in two by a landslide and crumbled, Fox 11 LA reports. It has been left surrounded by mud with running water also being observed nearby.
The one bedroom, one bathroom home, sold a few years ago for close to $2 million and rented for $14,000 a month, Fox 11 LA reported, citing online data. It’s located on Castellammare Drive.
Landslides have become the latest concern for homeowners and officials in Los Angeles as water being used to battle the blazes can make the ground weak, making foundations unstable. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has also warned of the danger of mudslides and landslides after wildfires because the fires destroy vegetation that would otherwise secure the soil.
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Aerial footage shows a home directly above the split-in-two home destroyed by a fire which may have contributed to the landslide.
The Pacific Palisades has been worst hit by the devastating wildfires in terms of fire damage. It has burned more than 23,700 acres, per the Los Angeles Times. At least 10 people are confirmed dead while another 17 have been killed in the Eaton Fire, Fox 11 reports.
The Palisades fire was 27% contained as of about 8 p.m. Thursday, up from 22% in the early morning.
Bryan Kirkwood, a security guard hired to protect homes from looters, was shocked to see the home torn apart.
"This is devastating. I didn’t realize it was this bad," Kirkwood told KTLA. "I didn’t see the news, got out here and looked and it didn’t hit me until now. Wow. This is a big deal."
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Mark Pestrella, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, said that the sheer amount of water being dispersed to put out the flames is having unintended consequences.
"What we call dry gravel, which is the slopes that are over steep and have been really dried out. And you will see this raveling of the slopes and what looks like a landslide and it is a landslide," Pestrella told Fox 11.
"Debris into the streets and into properties. Some of this material supports some of the structures that have remained behind. There has been inundation to some extent of water into the system."
He added that during firefighting efforts, gas and water lines were also destroyed and water was shut off in some areas located in the Palisades fire zones.
"We did that for two reasons. One is because we wanted to maintain a water pressure in the system, and not lose it to properties, but also in anticipation that it could grease the will of landslides," he said.
He said there is a significant amount of dry gravel in the lower Topanga area too.
"We're working in consultation side by side with Caltrans to maintain those slopes so that we can continue to have access into the area."
He said that flow hazards continue to be an issue even though it isn’t raining, and LA County has been dry for months.
"So, [as] a warning to all the residents, no matter where you live in LA County, if you have slopes, behind your homes, or if you're located on top of a slope, these slopes have become fragile," Pestrella said.
"The soil that is supporting your home has become fragile and damaged due to the events that we've had and wind included. There [is] mud and debris."