On Edge of Destruction : Crews Pump Water to Stabilize Weak Ground in Anaheim Hills

The ground in Anaheim Hills continued to slide at an alarming rate Friday, moving as much as five inches a day in one area and causing the evacuation of one additional home.

Meanwhile, city crews drilled five new wells in the area to pump out water in an effort to stabilize the landslide.

The most unstable portion of the slide was at a private cul-de-sac, Avenida de Santiago, where parts of the ground were sliding downhill at a rate of five inches per day and sinking at a rate of two inches per day, city officials said.

Other areas of the slide, which includes Rimwood Drive, Georgetown Circle and Pegasus Street, continued to move at a rate of an inch a day.

Despite the increased sliding on Avenida de Santiago, city officials said they believed the pumping operation was having an impact in stabilizing certain parts of the slide.

City spokesman Bret Colson said city crews will be working day and night on the slide problem.

“We are going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and keep pumping out the water,” Colson said. He added that as of late Friday, no homes appeared to be in imminent danger of collapse.

Forty-six homes are now evacuated, according to city officials, and residents cannot return for at least two weeks.

“At night, it’s a ghost town up here,” said Kathy Wiggam, who lives just outside the evacuation zone on Avenida de Santiago. “The police have the entire area sealed off.”

The ground began sliding dangerously Sunday after days of heavy rain.

But the first signs of slippage were noticed last April by Rimwood residents. City officials were notified in July and a report issued in November said the homes were built on an ancient, dormant landslide area. From July through last weekend the ground had moved about one inch.

The wells are being dug to decrease the water level within the hillside in the hope that it will slow the slippage. The wells are pulling 150 gallons a minute out of the ground, officials said. Pumping is expected to continue for at least six weeks, with more wells expected to be drilled in the next few days.

City officials also announced Friday that:

* Maintenance crews will be cutting away one-foot sections out of some driveways on Georgetown to help alleviate surface pressure.

* Private security firms are being hired to partially replace the Anaheim police officers who have been patrolling the evacuation area.

* Another public meeting with city officials will likely take place next week. Meanwhile, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Friday to extend a state-of-emergency declaration that gives the county greater power to clean up and rebuild damaged areas.

The emergency powers allow county workers to enter private lands in cleaning up storm debris and to bypass normal bidding procedures for public works repairs.

For instance, the recent rains partially sank the Bryan Avenue bridge near the Tustin--Irvine border and weakened its wooden frame. The demolition and rebuilding of the bridge must normally be put out to a competitive bid, but officials say the emergency declaration will allow the county to pick a builder without a formal bid to speed the $150,000 project.

The proclamation is also a first step toward getting state and federal financial assistance for the county, which is estimated to have sustained more than $40 million in storm damage to public and private property.