ANAHEIM : Some Slide Evacuees Return; Others Wait

Several Anaheim Hills residents who were evacuated because of last month’s landslide were given permission Thursday to move back into their homes, but city officials said the shifting earth may keep most other evacuees out of the area for nine months or longer.

City spokesman Bret Colson said the process of “reoccupation” is occurring “on the fringes of the slide,” where the damage is minimal.

The city’s fire chief was expected to meet with three homeowners--two from Leafwood Drive and one from Burlwood Drive--to tell them that they could move back if they agreed to break up the concrete in their back-yard patios. Removing the concrete is necessary to alleviate any stress between the slide and the houses, Colson said.

One of the homeowners must also take down a large patio overhang. Residents of the three houses, however, might have to evacuate again at a moment’s notice if the slide’s situation changes, Colson said.

A few other residents may be allowed to move back home within the next couple of weeks, Colson said. He added that the city is considering setting up a procedure that will give residents a chance to present evidence justifying why they should be allowed to reoccupy their homes.

In the meantime, Colson said, geologists were “shifting from an emergency mode to an analysis mode” in an attempt to come up with permanent ways to stabilize the slide.

For three weeks, crews have been trying to slow the 25-acre slide area by pumping water from the ground. However, the geologists don’t have enough information to suggest any long-term solutions to the problem, Colson said.

During the past few days, the geologists have been installing underground monitoring devices.

Colson said a preliminary analysis of the slide and possible remedies would take about three months. A comprehensive analysis would likely take nine months, he added. Until those reviews are completed, most evacuees would probably have to stay away from their homes, Colson said.

Colson said the most recent evacuations would probably only last until above-ground water lines are installed later this week.