Landslide Swallows Backyards of 3 Houses

The hillside beneath an exclusive San Juan Capistrano subdivision collapsed Thursday, swallowing the backyards of several houses, destroying patios and a swimming pool and prompting the evacuation of at least three families.

There were no injuries and no damage to houses in the landslide, which occurred in the Meredith Canyon development off Camino las Ramblas before 8 a.m. Thursday.

Geologists and city officials were investigating the hillside to see whether a massive grading operation in the canyon and along adjacent hills for the 350-unit Pacific Point project played a role in the landslide. Work on Pacific Point was suspended Thursday.

Officials also said heavy El Nino rains may have contributed to the failure of the slope, part of a series of hills rising more than 800 feet above the Pacific Ocean, which is visible from the ridges.

“We have a lot of ancient landslides around San Juan Capistrano, so we’re always careful when we get grading plans,” said Bill Huber, director of engineering and building for the city. He could not say whether the slope failure was in the area of a onetime landslide.

Thursday’s landslide involved about 300,000 cubic yards of dirt, an area about 600 feet in diameter. “It’s a big slide, a huge slide,” Huber said.

Resident John Jay Curtis said he awoke to tremors and the sounds of an earthquake.

“I went to get a drink of water and looked out the kitchen at my backyard, and I saw it was gone,” Curtis said. “It was the shock of my life.

“I took a deep breath. It was a disaster area. It just collapsed.”

Looking across the hillside, he saw that parts of his neighbor’s yard had dropped vertically down the slope and that most of his own yard, including his $80,000 swimming pool, had disappeared.

“The patio, the decking, rocks, all my landscaping--gone,” Curtis said.

At the bottom of the hill, crews for Anaheim developer SunCal Cos. were grading land for the Pacific Point project. City officials said the grading has been going on for about six months and requires the movement of 9 million cubic yards of dirt across the hills and canyons of southern San Juan Capistrano.

City officials said it’s the largest such earth-moving project to be undertaken in San Juan Capistrano.

SunCal, through its attorneys, Newmeyer & Dillion of Newport Beach, said that it will work with the city to devise a plan to “stabilize and repair” the hill and is “genuinely concerned about the safety and welfare” of homeowners.

Residents said SunCal has offered to pay temporary relocation costs.

*

Engineering director Huber said city officials do not know what role the SunCal project played in the slope collapse.

However, he said, the Meredith Canyon development at the top of the hill has been there for 20 years, and not until grading began six months ago had problems been reported.

Curtis first noticed problems with cracking in his yard two or three months ago, Huber said. After that, SunCal and its geotechnical firm, Irvine-based Leighton & Associates, installed measuring devices called inclinometers in the hillside to detect any movement, Huber said.

Leighton & Associates, one of the largest geotechnical consulting firms in Southern California, has been associated with many developments. One of those developments is in nearby Laguna Niguel, where a hillside collapsed, destroying several houses in upscale Niguel Summit and resulting in the evacuation of several others in March.

Officials with the consulting firm did not return telephone calls on Thursday.

SunCal will resume work soon to load fill dirt at the base of the hill to prevent any further movement while geological tests are underway. The developer also will pay for fencing to prevent access to potentially perilous areas on the hilltop, Huber said.

*

Three of the Meredith Canyon houses on Via la Mirada were “red-tagged,” meaning that they are at least temporarily unfit for habitation, and two others were “yellow-tagged,” meaning that residents can go in to retrieve belongings but are advised not to stay.

American Red Cross officials said they would provide assistance with temporary housing to the evacuated families.

Geologists would not allow neighbors to walk through the backyards of affected properties, so members of the Meredith Canyon Community Assn. trudged up a dirt trail on a nearby hill to gain a vantage point.

The development was built in the 1970s, affording ocean and canyon views. Houses sell for $500,000 to more than $700,000, neighbors said.

“We’re concerned and plan to have our own geologist come to take a look at this,” said David Weigand, manager of the 186-member Meredith Canyon association.

Brett Trowbridge and his wife bought their house on Via la Mirada in September. On Thursday, the house bore a red tag taped to the garage door, and the Trowbridges were making plans to stay with friends for the night.

“We’re kind of shattered,” Brett Trowbridge said. “It really rocks your perspective on the world. It’s only stone and wood, and we have our lives--thank God for that. But it’s where you live.”

*

Curtis, an attorney, said that SunCal has offered to pay moving expenses for the dislocated residents and added that he is not angry at the Pacific Point developer.

“I don’t want to put them down,” he said. “They’re trying to do it right. It’s going to be a wonderful development.”

On Thursday, he stood in the street, the scene of firetrucks, sheriff’s deputies and yellow police tape, awaiting movers coming to pack up his art collection, crystal and Versace china.

“I like south Orange County,” he said, scanning the neighborhood where he has lived for the last five years.

“Take a look: It’s ocean view; it’s clean air. It’s been a great place to live.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Wake-Up Call

Residents of five hilltop homes were evacuated Thursday after an early-morning landslide tore away portions of their backyards.

26902: No damage; voluntary evacuation

26922: Suffered the most damage; two-thirds of backyard lost, including pool and deck; residents evacuated

26932: Portion of backyard lost; residents evacuated

26952: Lost corner of backyard; pool apparently intact; residents evacuated

26962: No damage; voluntary evacuation

Slide area: Bowl-shaped, about 600 feet in diameter

Depth: 100 feet

Volume: 200,000 to 300,000 cubic yards of earth

Source: San Juan Capistrano city engineer; Graphics reporting by JANICE JONES DODDS / Los Angeles Times