Photo: Los Angeles Fire Department
SHERMAN OAKS (CNS) - A landslide likely triggered by the drenching rains that poured on the Southland earlier this year destroyed an under- construction home in the hills of Sherman Oaks Wednesday and forced the evacuation of two others.
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters responded at 2:51 a.m. to 3741 N. Ventura Canyon Ave. to a report of a large tree and wires down in the backyard of a residence. When they arrived, however, crews found that a large portion of the hillside had slid down toward at least three homes, said LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange.
The slide opened up a cavernous trough that wound through the neighborhood. A vacant home that was being remodeled was destroyed by the deluge of mud, debris and vegetation.
The slide also came dangerously close to two other homes, both of which were evacuated. Fire officials said a total of three people were evacuated from the two homes. A fourth home was also being closely watched, but was not immediately evacuated.
The city Department of Building and Safety was contacted and was accessing the integrity of all the impacted structures and hillsides.
The destroyed structure was red-tagged as unsuitable for habitation. The two others were yellow-tagged, allowing only limited access for residents to retrieve belongings.
Neighbors said the home that was destroyed had been undergoing renovations for a long time, and was thankfully vacant when the slide occurred. Fire officials said no injuries have been reported.
Landslides have continued to occur in recent weeks following the devastating storms that inundated the region earlier this year, dumping record amounts of rain.
Earlier this week, a landslide forced the closure of Pacific Coast Highway near Big Rock in Malibu. Crews later cleared enough of the road for two lanes of southbound traffic and one lane of northbound traffic. A separate slide has forced the indefinite closure of Topanga Canyon Boulevard from PCH to Grand View Drive.
Another stretch of PCH north of Corral Canyon Road is restricted to one lane of traffic due to a slide that occurred in February.