Residents’ Future on Shaky Ground

All Margrette Bass could think about Monday as she peered at the crumbling bluff holding up her San Clemente home was what possessions to grab if the worst happened.

She was one of four homeowners on Paseo de Cristobal evacuated about 6:30 p.m. Sunday as the rain-sodden bluff began giving way.

“I’ve been walking around the house trying to figure out what I would grab and take with me if we’re evacuated again,” said Bass, who has lived in her seaside home 14 years. Part of Bass’ patio wall broke off, and damage was worse next door at the house owned by Michael McKinley.

“They’ve asked us to stay away from the back patio,” Bass said, adding that because her kitchen is at the rear of her home, “let’s just say I won’t be cooking tonight.”

City officials have condemned one of the homes and asked the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. to go along the tracks below the area at just 10 mph, fearing vibrations could dislodge more of the hillside.

Debris from the bluff fell on the railroad tracks, prompting both Metrolink and Amtrak to cancel passenger service from San Diego to Los Angeles, affecting more than 5,000 riders.

The earth movement--a frightening reminder of a nearby slide that claimed five homes in early 1993--has been harrowing for evacuated homeowners.

The slide also eroded dirt beneath Bass’ home, claiming a retaining wall, bushes and leaving her concrete patio undermined. At the McKinley home, the wooden deck was found in two pieces halfway down the slope.

A city inspector condemned McKinley’s house because the bluff fell within 3 feet of the home’s foundation, said City Engineer William Cameron.

McKinley returned home Monday afternoon and immediately set about moving his furniture and belongings from the back to the front of the house. He declined to talk to reporters. “He doesn’t want anyone in there,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Fred Lisanti. “He’s got enough to worry about.”

On Sunday, the slide caused Amtrak to halt passenger service until further notice. The line had already been down for five days because of a damaged rail bridge in San Clemente, said Dominick Albano, an Amtrak spokesman. The line was reopened Sunday morning and then shut down later because of the slide, he said.

“On Sunday, we had about 1,000 passengers who had to be bused around that area on the San Diegan route,” Albano said. “The trains were canceled all day Monday.”

For Metrolink riders, service is set to resume at 5:10 a.m. today, said Peter Hidalgo, a Metrolink spokesman. Trains will run at reduced speed through the slide area, he said.

San Clemente officials expressed concern that the trains were threatening the hill’s stability. But after several slow-speed test runs by freight trains, Hidalgo said no visible problems developed.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials visited those affected by the slide and dropped off literature detailing how to obtain emergency funds in case of further damage, Bass said.

Other parts of Southern California also took precautions Monday. In the San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety has red- or yellow-tagged about 50 dwellings in danger of mudslide catastrophe in recent weeks, mostly along the slopes of Santa Monica Mountains.

The most recent slide occurred Saturday night when mud rumbled down a slope and flattened a house on Eureka Drive in Studio City, pushing it into a backyard swimming pool.

Four days before the saturated hillside gave way, the house--unoccupied at the time--had been deemed uninhabitable by building officials. The houses on both sides of the pancaked house were yellow-tagged.

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Times staff writer Karima A. Haynes and correspondent Dawn Hobbs contributed to this story.

David Reyes may be reached at (714) 248-2150. His e-mail address is david.reyes@latimes.com