Landslide-Damaged Home Is Condemned

In their first such action, city officials on Monday condemned a home in the Anaheim Hills landslide area, declaring that the shifting ground had so damaged the residence as to make it uninhabitable.

City spokesman Bret Colson said the residence in the 6800 block of Avenida de Santiago had a “large scarp (fissure) running through the entire home.”

City officials waited until after the homeowners had removed most of their possessions in the morning before the house was “red tagged,” meaning they can’t go in even to get their belongings.

It is possible the condemned home can be repaired, officials said, but without such work, entry would be unsafe.

Colson added that a residence on Rimwood Drive may also be condemned, as soon as today.

Meanwhile, city crews Monday continued to pump out underground water in the hills in an attempt to stabilize the slide, which was moving at about three-quarters of an inch to one inch a day in most areas.

There are 24 wells at various depths pumping out about 200,000 gallons of water a day, Colson said. City officials plan to dig more than 40 wells and keep the pumping operation going for about six weeks.

“That may sound like a lot of water, but . . . it’s only a drop in the bucket,” he said. Millions of gallons of water fell in the area and saturated the hillsides in the recent storms, he added.

More than 150 residents from 46 homes were evacuated last week when earth that had been slipping slowly for about nine months started to accelerate downhill as the January rains drenched the ground. The earth has moved more than 15 inches in some areas in just one week.

In other developments, the city scheduled another town meeting for concerned residents at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 441 S. Fairmont Blvd.

Also, city officials said they expect to learn today whether the federal government will declare the site a disaster zone and provide financial assistance to the city and the victims.

In addition, officials said that the land of a home evacuated on Pegasus Street had a history of sliding, most recently in 1979. Measures to stabilize the property, including installing drains and a retaining wall, failed last week.

The slide on Pegasus is unrelated to the massive slide affecting Avenida de Santiago, Georgetown Circle and Rimwood Drive, according to the city.