County Set to OK Repair of Adobes

With federal grants in hand, the county is set to approve the repair of several historic adobe structures in Piru that were badly damaged in the Northridge earthquake.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on awarding a $183,500 design contract to Earthen Building Technologies, an Oregon-based civil engineering firm.

The 1994 quake weakened walls and sent plaster cascading onto the floors of the Camulos Ranch buildings, including a 7,000-square-foot main residence completed in 1853 and a 10,000-square-foot brick winery completed in 1867. The Ygnacio Del Valle Adobe residence is a Ventura County historical landmark.

“As a general rule, adobes are very susceptible to earthquakes,” said E. Leroy Tolles, a principal with Earthen Building Technologies and a civil engineer, who is an adobe expert. “They’re big, they’re heavy and they crack very easily. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do to them.”

The design work will include plans for seismic retrofitting, the restoration of the exterior of the buildings and rehabilitation of electric and plumbing systems.

The money for the design project comes from $275,000 in federal block grants the county plans to funnel into the restoration project. The owners of the ranch, or “Rancho Camulos,” plan to turn part of the property into a public museum.