Storm Threat a Dark Cloud for Laguna Niguel Condo Residents

Residents of a condominium complex, jittery after last week’s mudslide that toppled three hillside homes and damaged five units, spent Tuesday evening placing sandbags in strategic locations in anticipation of another storm expected to hit today.

“We’re getting a little nervous,” said Terry Odle, 40, a resident of the Crown Cove complex.

Meanwhile, officials in other cities said they were monitoring the storm, which could dump anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rain on Orange County. “We are going to wait and see what happens,” said Kenneth Frank, city manager of Laguna Beach where two people were killed and 300 homes battered or destroyed by last months’ heavy rains. “If we have a big storm,” Frank said, “we are prepared.”

Laguna Niguel officials said they were keeping crews on standby to aid in emergency evacuations, divert any runoff from the slide area and distribute sandbags to residents concerned about flooding.

“The condos are our main area of concern,” City Manager Tim Casey said. “If the rain comes and the hillside starts to move, we will be in a position to order evacuations if necessary.”

After meeting with geologists late Tuesday, representatives of the condominium homeowners association and city officials decided against recommending an immediate evacuation of the 20 units in the complex that remain occupied.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and reevaluate it again in the morning,” said Thomas E. Miller, a lawyer representing the homeowners.

The complex has been of concern to residents and geologists since late last year when the 50-foot slope behind it, weakened by the El Nino rains, began sliding toward the condominium units at an alarming rate. Last December five condos and five homes atop the slope were ordered evacuated. In February, the occupants of four more condos were asked to move. Then last week, the hillside slid in the middle of the night, toppling two of the abandoned homes, demolishing five condominium units at the base of the hill and causing more residents of the 41-unit complex to flee. A third home gave way the next day.

Among other things, Miller said, residents fear that further rainfall could trigger slides even more devastating. “It will come down a lot faster because the soil is already loosened,” he said. “It could be potentially more dangerous and life threatening than the landslide that’s already taken place.”

Weather forecasters were predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain along the coast and 2 to 3 inches in the foothills through most of today. “I don’t think it’s going to be real wild,” said Jeff House, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which does forecasts for The Times. By Thursday morning, he said, lingering showers were likely to give way to a partly cloudy day.

Over at the Crown Cove complex, however, some residents said Tuesday that they expected to get little sleep.

“I may be watching the rain,” Odle said.