Slide Evacuation Period Indefinite : Storm damage: Anaheim Hills residents are told that if hillsides keep moving, ‘all bets are off’ on returning home.

ANAHEIM — City officials said Wednesday night that the ever-shifting landslide in Anaheim Hills has made it impossible for them to determine when, or if, evacuated residents would be able to return to their homes.

“My gut feeling is this looks like we’ll be here for quite some time,” said Mark McLarty, the city’s chief geologist. “This is a big, big landslide. . . . Two weeks is optimistic. I don’t believe two weeks is going to get it done. Three months? That’s something we’ll have to look at.”

Last week, city officials told more than 46 homeowners that they had to leave their homes for a minimum of two weeks. But as the end of the second week approaches, city spokesman Bret Colson said the initial evacuation time period appears to be very “optimistic.”

“As long as things are still moving, all bets are off,” Colson said.

Even if residents are allowed to return home after the two-week period, many homeowners would be left without utilities because the landslide has damaged the underground lines and pipes.

The news of the indefinite evacuation did not sit well with homeowners, about 400 of whom attended an informational meeting held by the city Wednesday night.

“I’m starting to think sarcastic thoughts about this whole matter,” said one resident who declined to give his name. “The city’s operation to stop this slide is going to cost millions of dollars. Why doesn’t the city just buy us out right now and be done with it? I mean, they’re going to be spending millions of dollars anyway and there is still no guarantee that they are going to fix it.”

Sandy Steiner, who was evacuated from her home on Avenida de Santiago last week, said she wanted city officials to be honest with the residents because that would allow them to plan their immediate future.

“I think we would accept the answer as long as you would just tell us,” said Steiner, who owns a videotaping business.

At the meeting, city officials also revealed that the slide has affected new areas. In addition to Avenida de Santiago, Georgetown Circle, Rimwood Drive and Pegasus Street, the slide is affecting Williams Circle and other parts of Avenida de Santiago.

Mark McLarty, a geologist under contract with the city, said the 25-acre landslide area continues to move northeast at a rate of about three-fourths of an inch to an inch a day.

He said the slide moves at a “herky-jerky” pace, faster in some areas and slower in others.

Ground movement in the area was first noticed last April, when area residents spotted small cracks in streets and sidewalks and reported the problem to the city. It was believed to be evidence of a previously undetected ancient landslide that had become active again.

The movement accelerated dramatically Jan. 17 after days of heavy rainfall soaked the hillsides. As a result of the slippage, city officials asked that 46 homes be evacuated.

Since then, homeowners have packed their belongings and moved into motels, second homes or with relatives and friends.

Gail Richards, principal of El Modena High School, who has lived on Georgetown Circle for 16 years, asked city officials to advise homeowners whether they should make their mortgage payments, which are coming due.

“I want to know if we should be pouring good money after bad.”

City officials told her that was up to her, and that she should discuss the matter with her lender.

In a later interview, Richards said, “A lot of the information that we’ve heard are things that we’ve heard before. There doesn’t seem to be anything new.”

She said she would like to see the city hire another geology team to help McLarty’s team and to begin looking at long-term solutions to the landslide problem.

McLarty, who was first hired by the city last July to do just that when the first signs of buckling appear, said he has to figure out a way to stop the current ground movement before he can begin to think of long-term solutions.

City officials have continued pumping underground water in an attempt to stabilize the ground. Currently, 33 wells are pumping up to 300,000 gallons of water out of the hillside. Although the pumping operation shows some signs of slowing the massive slide, McLarty said it is impossible to know when the slide will settle.

Meanwhile, city crews are keeping a watchful eye on the ground’s movement and the damage it is causing.

The worst damage has occurred near a private cul-de-sac on Avenida de Santiago, where the slide at one point had moved as much as five inches a day. To date, city officials estimate that the landslide has caused more than $2 million in damage, including $400,000 to the city streets, sidewalks and underground utilities.

The city is seeking federal assistance to help pay for the damage costs. If the federal aid is provided, residents can apply for low-interest loans. Those loans could come in handy, because most of the homeowners’ insurance policies exclude coverage for slide damage.

Throughout the disaster, many residents have been critical of the city for not doing enough to correct the problem before the rains. Some have expressed outrage that the slide, which apparently dates back to the Ice Age, was not discovered a decade and a half ago when the hills were first being developed.

McLarty said Wednesday that he reviewed all the documents on city file and said geological tests done before development did not indicate a potential landslide problem.

Asked if a competent geologist should have discovered the slide area years ago, McLarty declined to comment. He said that although he had all the city files, he did not believe he had all the research documentation that was conducted by the earlier geologists.

Of the information he does have, including aerial photographs and topographical maps, McLarty said there appears to be some evidence even 15 years ago that the area might be prone to slide.