Landslide takes out a dozen homes in Rolling Hills Estates

Shifting soil on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has destroyed a dozen homes during a weekend landslide along a canyon in Rolling Hills Estates.

The massive “land shift,” as officials dubbed it, took out 12 homes in a gated development on Peartree Lane, the Orange County Register reported. At least 16 residents were evacuated.

“It’s devastating,” Rolling Hills Estates Councilman Frank Zerunyan told the newspaper. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Residents called the Los Angeles County Fire Department to report a water leak around 4 p.m. Saturday, Zerunyan said. When firefighters arrived, they noticed cracks in the ground — and quickly realized potential danger. Fire officials then ordered evacuations. 

The dozen homes in the evacuation zone were leaning or crumbling, according to photos and details from officials. Driveways were cracked and bent. Door and garage frames were crooked.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose Fourth District includes the Peninsula, said she saw a fissure winding its way through the homes.

“Since I was here last night,” Hahn said in a statement, “the land has moved about six feet. So many of these homes that last night were still standing, are crumbling and giving way to the fissure.

“We believe many of these homes will fall into the canyon sooner rather than later.”

Each of the damaged homes were red-tagged, or dubbed uninhabitable, according to L.A. County Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Chiyoshi Hasegawa. Power to the area was turned off and utility crews made sure no gas or electric lines were disrupted.

It’s not clear what caused the landslide, on the north side of the Peninsula facing Torrance. City officials will investigate several possible causes, including the winter deluge and a sinkhole less than a mile away, though a building official said that’s “probably not” the cause.

A 240-acre section of south Rancho Palos Verdes known as the Portuguese Bend Landslide area is the most active landslide area in North America, according to city officials, moving at a rate of as much as eight feet a year.

— Dana Bartholomew