A Newport Beach home that was badly damaged in a landslide earlier this month was demolished on Thursday.
The landslide was reported on the morning of March 3 after days of downpours in the area. Photos from the scene showed a huge chunk of dirt had broken away from the hill behind the house on Galaxy Drive.
Pieces of the back patio had also fallen into the hillside.
No injuries were reported, but the house was tagged red, city officials said.
Teams remove personal effects and furniture from the house marked in red on Galaxy Drive.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The owner elected to have the home demolished, with the city fast-tracking a demolition permit, Newport Beach spokesman John Pope said.
On Thursday, construction equipment entered the house, tearing down the roof and walls of the structure and leaving little more than debris.
With the house demolished, officials say, it should be easier to shore up the houses on either side.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
With the house now gone, efforts to shore up the hill for the houses on either side might be easier, Pope said.
These homes were also damaged by the landslide and were tagged yellow, meaning they were safe to enter but could not yet be occupied.
Crews continue to pump groundwater out of the hill in an effort to desaturate the ground after several torrential rains.
The Newport Beach home was tagged red following a March 3 landslide.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency in part because of the hill’s collapse.
“I am deeply concerned about the hillside collapse in the Dover Shores neighborhood of Newport Beach and other storms in my district and across Orange County,” said Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose district includes the community of Dover Shores, in a statement. “I hope there will be no more landslides on the shore, but if these three houses fall, a cascading effect may occur for the other 50 houses on the cliff, and we must be prepared in case that happens. would happen.”
The Orange County Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency in part because of the hillside collapse that severely damaged the home.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The Newport Beach hillsides weren’t the only places to experience damaging landslides from the series of storms; On Wednesday, four homes in San Clemente were marked red after a landslide.
No injuries were reported during this incident.