Grounds to Be Anxious in Laguna Beach : Fire zone: Upcoming report on ancient slides in Mystic Hills area will have both good and bad news for those eager to rebuild.
LAGUNA BEACH — A geological report scheduled to be released next week on the stability of fire-scarred Mystic Hills will carry good and bad news for the neighborhood’s disaster-weary residents: it will confirm that an ancient landslide exists in the area but show its size to be smaller than originally feared, according to a source close to the study.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the landslide appears to affect 20 lots in the Mystic Hills area, fewer than half the 50 lots previously reported. He declined to elaborate.
The city learned about the ancient landslide in a report in March. It raised questions about whether the rebuilding of about 15 homes destroyed in the Oct. 27 wildfire would be delayed and whether other homeowners would be required to perform costly stabilization work.
The city hired Geofirm, a geotechnical consulting company in Laguna Beach, to examine the area. The company’s report, which is not yet completed, is expected to be delivered to city officials by the middle of next week.
Meanwhile, the city is moving to study the geology beneath a second burned area, the Temple Hills neighborhood, an action prompted by reports that an ancient landslide may exist there as well.
Last month, city officials received letters from two geologists and one property owner about potential problems under parts of Buena Vista Way and several nearby streets in the Temple Hills area.
At the city’s request, Geofirm last week submitted a proposal to examine that neighborhood, a move that is almost certain to further slow the efforts of fire victims to rebuild their homes there.
The proposal calls for a study lasting at least four to six weeks, a source said.
In the wake of the reports, fears about the stability of Laguna’s hillsides have spread throughout the fire-damaged areas, said Kyle Butterwick, the city’s community development director.
“I can certainly say it is a very serious problem,†Butterwick said. “Not only are the fire victims concerned about this issue in terms of how it relates to their ability to rebuild their houses, but also existing residents both within and adjacent to the fire-damaged areas on hillside lots are becoming increasingly concerned and alarmed about the stability of these hillsides.â€
City officials and geologists were reluctant this week to discuss specifics of the Buena Vista proposal or the Mystic Hills report, emphasizing that neither is yet in final form and stressing that they hope to avoid alarming residents unnecessarily.
“A lot of people are going to get scared and frightened before they know if they are in the area,†said City Manager Kenneth C. Frank, who lost his own Mystic Hills home in the fire.
He did say, however, that the Mystic Hills report is expected to be delivered to the city on Wednesday and made public on Friday. A special City Council meeting to discuss the study has been scheduled for 3 p.m. next Saturday.
In addition, Frank said, a revised version of Geofirm’s Buena Vista proposal will be ready Monday and will be considered by the City Council at a previously scheduled special meeting at 7 p.m Tuesday.
A map of the affected area--which, like Mystic Hills, includes both fire-damaged lots and homes which survived--and a notice of the meeting will be hand-delivered to area property owners next Sunday, he said.
But several of those who lost their homes in both areas and have had their dreams of rebuilding put on hold by the landslide reports, have expressed a growing frustration with what they view as the city’s cautious, maddeningly slow pace of progress on the issue.
“I know there is a process this has to go through and I understand that the city and Geofirm both want to be cautious about what they want to release,†said Polly Sloan, a fire victim and the chairperson of a newly created “Ancient Landslides Committee†for the Mystic Hills Homeowners Assn. “But I can’t help but wonder if there wouldn’t be some way to expedite what’s going on here.â€
In a letter dated April 23, Buena Vista resident Christian Werner appealed to Frank and other city officials to act quickly to resolve the matter, stressing its urgency to the affected residents.
The city had not contracted for a comprehensive study of the area during the previous six weeks, Werner noted, despite numerous conversations and meetings between city officials and geologists who had found evidence of an ancient slide beneath his lot and others in the Temple Hills area.
“In the meantime, the cost-of-living allowance that property owners receive as part of their insurance coverage continue(s) to diminish, not to mention their psychological ability to cope with prolonged waiting and uncertainty,†Werner wrote.
On Friday, Werner said he was encouraged by the quickened pace of action in recent days.
“If you forget about the fact that we lost more than one month of time and just deal with how things are going in the last 10 days, clearly, things are looking up,†said Werner, whose lot is believed by geologists to form the northern boundary of the ancient slide area. “The city has now acknowledged that this is something worthy to be concerned about.â€
Councilman Robert F. Gentry, who also lost his Mystic Hills home in the fire, said he understood both the impatience of the fire victims and the city’s need to proceed carefully.
“I have not heard anything (from fire victims) lately other than a high, high level of frustration and fear that this landslide issue could impede the rebuilding process itself, and I feel that too,†Gentry said. “We’ve been through the fire and the mudslides and it’s very difficult to cope with yet another hurdle thrown at you.
“But with my city hat on, we have got to be very cautious how we proceed because we are the authorizing agency for building. So we have to look at this very carefully. We bear the responsibility for public safety here.â€
Hannes Richter, a geotechnical engineer and one of Geofirm’s two principals, said Friday that his company is “double-checking every aspect of this, especially the Mystic Hills report. We know that this is going to be very thoroughly scrutinized and we don’t want to make any mistakes.â€
Evidence of the two slides was discovered by geologists contracted by private homeowners to prepare geological studies of their properties, surveys that are required by the city before building permits may be issued.
The geologists have said the Mystic Hills landslide lies about 28 to 40 feet beneath the surface in an area on the hillside just above City Hall. Preliminary findings on the Temple Hills landslide indicate that it is much deeper, lying about 65 to 76 feet beneath the surface and possibly involving properties on Buena Vista Way, Canyon View Drive and Temple Hills Drive.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
