House Under Repair Collapses in Mount Washington

A vacant house being rebuilt on a slope in the Mount Washington area suddenly slid off its foundation and tumbled down the hill Wednesday afternoon, but no one was injured.

Neighbors said the two-bedroom, single-story home in the 4600 block of Nob Hill Drive had stood for decades on the site before it unexpectedly gave way.

“There were two workers on site, and they heard the cracking and got out of the way,” said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Larry Schneider..

“The structure didn’t have enough support,” Schneider said. “I don’t think anything is salvageable. It’s a total loss.”

Fearing additional collapse, firefighters ordered the evacuation of a bungalow farther down the slope.

City building inspectors were called in Wednesday night to determine what caused the mishap.

Some nearby residents said they were surprised the house had not collapsed sooner. They said the entire earth foundation had been removed and the structure had been resting on little more than wooden stilts for a couple of weeks.

Neighbor Katie Miller, 17, witnessed its end.

“There was a huge cloud of dust,” she said. “It sounded like wood was exploding.”

Contractor Ernesto Ruiz said the house had been damaged in the Northridge earthquake. He said his employees had removed the dirt from beneath the home and supported the structure on massive beams.

“We were reinforcing the foundation. . . . I checked all the shoring and it was fine,” Ruiz said. “I think it must have been the weakness of the walls because we recently found thousands of bees and fleas in them.”

“I am heartbroken,” said Mary C. Beetz, owner of the house. “I only owed $3,000 on it. The American dream isn’t to have a home, but have a home paid off, and it just slid away.”