Anaheim Hills Slide Victims to Go Home : Disaster: Evacuation order that involved 45 residences will be rescinded next week on an ‘area-by-area’ basis. Residents’ reactions mixed.

Eight weeks after a massive landslide forced the evacuation of 45 Anaheim Hills houses, city officials on Wednesday told residents they may begin moving back home starting next week.

“The efforts we have taken have reduced the danger in the slide area to a degree where we are comfortable with allowing people back in,” said city spokesman Bret Colson.

The evacuation order will be rescinded on an “area-by-area” basis over the next six weeks or so, Colson said. Before any home may be reoccupied, the city must have repaired the sewage line. Residents are also advised to hire inspectors to ensure the structural integrity of their homes.

“It will take us some time to get all the infrastructure back in working order,” Colson said.

In a seven-page handout given to evacuated residents, city officials stated that although they did not see a “strong likelihood of dangerous ground movement in the foreseeable future, no one has guaranteed that such movement cannot occur again.” If it does, Colson said, evacuations will be ordered again.

It was mostly good news for residents, many of whom have been living with friends and relatives or renting second homes since the evacuation. At least three residents, however, face the possibility that their homes may be condemned because of the severity of the damage.

Colson said the number of severely damaged homes may rise as further inspections are completed.

“Our private hell is coming to an end,” said Gail Turner, who along with her husband, Jeff, have been living in a friend’s condo since they were evacuated. “It’s been really scary. And I guess we’ll have to worry about every creaking, cracking sound for the rest of our life, but at least we have our home.” Turner said she plans to throw a street party when the neighbors return.

But other residents complained that after being homeless for two months, they are supposed to hire inspectors and must provide the city with certification from a plumber that no pipes are leaking. They will also still be liable for any further damage or injuries. It may also be several more weeks before running water is available because city officials have focused their attention on fixing the sewage system.

“I’m not moving back until I have running water,” said homeowner Eileen Lane. “I’m not happy about this at all.”

Under the city’s plan, residents must evaluate their own risks in moving home. City officials said that hazards and inconveniences remain in the area.

Traffic and parking will be restricted in some places, and security guards may limit access. In others, residents will have to watch out for cracks in streets and sidewalks and the heavy equipment being used by city crews to correct the slide problem.

Before they move home, residents must agree not to water their lawns or refill their pools.

City officials said that residents of Avenida de Santiago would be among the first to be allowed back, and those who live on Georgetown Circle would be among the last. All but three of the 45 evacuated homes should be ready for occupation within the next six weeks.

The other three homes have sustained substantial damage and may be condemned by the city, Colson said.

As many as 150 residents from 45 homes were forced to evacuate Jan. 18 when heavy rainfall soaked the hillsides and aggravated the movement of an ancient landslide.

The slide, which geologists say dated back to the Ice Age, was first noticed last April when area residents spotted small cracks in streets and sidewalks and reported the problem to the city.

Before the rains, the slide had moved only about one inch in nine months. After the storms, the slide slipped as much as 15 inches in some areas.

City officials said that the fact that they are allowing residents back into their homes does not mean that the landslide has completely stabilized. Geologists are still trying to come up with long-term measures to prevent land movement.

In the meantime, city crews continue to pump millions of gallons of water out of hills in an effort to reduce the ground water and stabilize the landslide.

Currently, the slide movement is minimal, in part because of the “dewatering” operation, Colson said.

Mark McLarty, the geologist under contract with the city, has said that the slide will never go away but likened it to a disease could be “treated.”

“That’s what really bothers me,” homeowner Gerald Steiner said. “This area should never have been built on at all.”

Since the evacuations, many homeowners have suffered financial hardships, trying to pay rent on temporary housing and the mortgages on their evacuated homes.

For most, the damage to their homes is not covered under by insurance. As a result, the homeowners have applied for federal financial assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The aid, however, only covers the damage to the home and does not compensate the owners for lost equity and property value.