Firm Finds Small Slide in Fire Area

A geological report released Thursday appears to be a mixed blessing for some of this city’s fire victims. It confirms the existence of a new landslide but states that it is smaller than previously thought.

In its final report on the fire-damaged Temple Hills community, Geofirm, a Laguna Beach geotechnical consulting firm, found that 47 lots in the study area, including 11 properties that burned in the October fire, were in areas of “potential instability.”

Fears that a larger, deeper landslide might exist caused concern among fire victims eager to rebuild and raised questions about whether owners of homes that survived the fire might also be required to undertake expensive stabilization measures.

Not so, wrote the geologists, who said that “the suspected larger ancient landslide postulated by previous investigators is not present.”

City Manager Kenneth C. Frank expressed relief Thursday at the news.

“We thought we had a 70-foot slide when the first geologist reports came in,” he said. “So I’m pleased, actually. It’s turned out better than I thought it would.”

In addition, Gary Stoney, an engineering geologist who is one of two principals of Geofirm, said the slide area may be easier to stabilize than previously thought.

As a whole, the new report “certainly couldn’t be considered good news because a landslide was discovered,” Stoney said. “But it is better from a workability standpoint, from a stabilization standpoint.”

It remains unclear how the latest findings will affect efforts to rebuild in the neighborhood, but the report said property owners are likely to be able to stabilize their properties on a “lot-by-lot basis.” The report gave no indication how much such measures might cost, however, and Stoney said he was not aware of the specifics.

The findings were endorsed by a second geotechnical consulting company, Leighton and Associates of Irvine.

The report will be presented to property owners during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday in the City Council chambers.

In April, reports from geologists of possible problems in the Temple Hills area prompted city officials to asked Geofirm, based in Laguna, for the study. A similar investigation was underway at the time in Mystic Hills, another community ravaged by the Oct. 27 firestorm, which damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes in the Laguna area.

In May, Geofirm recommended a more extensive investigation of the geology underlying about 68 Temple Hills lots.