A Los Angeles home that was spared during the apocalyptic fires was split in two by a mudslide in the fire’s aftermath.
The $2 million, one-bed, one-bath oceanfront home in Pacific Palisades survived the fire that destroyed some 5,300 other properties in the area, charred 23,000 acres of land and killed at least nine people.
But just a day after the fire threat began to recede, a mudslide split the house straight down the middle, providing a cruel reminder to residents that they are not out of the woods yet.
Residents of fire-ravaged communities have been warned that the risk of mudslides is higher and should be alert to any warning signs.
Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, spoke about the risk of landslides Thursday morning.
He said, “A warning to all those residents no matter where you live in LA County: If you have slopes behind your homes or you are on top of a slope, those slopes have become vulnerable.
‘The ground on which your house rests has all become vulnerable due to the events we have experienced, including the wind.
‘There are risks of mud and debris flows even when it’s not raining, so we want people to be very careful.’
A Los Angeles home spared during the apocalyptic fires was split in two by a mudslide in the fire’s aftermath

The $2 million, one-bed, one-bath oceanfront home in Pacific Palisades survived the fire that destroyed some 5,300 other properties in the area, charred 23,000 acres of land and killed at least nine people.

Just a day after the fire threat began to subside, a mudslide split the house straight down the middle. This was a cruel reminder to residents that they are not out of the woods yet.
He told residents to be on high alert for “any of these conditions in and around their properties – in the fire zone or beyond.”
“Contact 211 and we will send a team of geologists, soil engineers and flood engineers to look at your property and make an assessment to protect your property,” he said.
The wildfires have disrupted soil and gravel throughout Los Angeles, pushing “debris into streets and properties,” Pestrella said.
Some of this material is now helping to support some structures that were not razed during the fires.
The water used to fight the fires increases the risk of landslides, turning otherwise dry soil into mud.
“You can imagine how much water was used in firefighting,” he noted. ‘Gas pipes and water pipes were also destroyed.’
Officials are working to maintain slopes around fire-ravaged communities in an effort to prevent dangerous conditions.

Residents of fire-ravaged communities have been warned that the risk of mudslides is higher and should be alert to any warning signs

“It literally looks like a bomb dropped,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Thursday

The wildfires have disrupted soil and gravel throughout Los Angeles, “pushing debris into the streets and encroaching on property,” Pestrella said.
After the Thomas Fire that hit Southern California in 2017, two people died as a result of the inferno, but another 23 died from the landslide that followed.
The fire in the Palisades is still raging but now 22 percent contained, while a second and deadlier fire in Pasadena and Altadena, called the Eaton Fire, is 55 percent contained after wiping out 14,000 acres and killing at least 16 people perished.
A weather warning for “life-threatening winds” ended Wednesday evening, giving firefighters a bit of a reprieve in their battle to further control these fires.
Officials are sifting through the rubble for human remains. Dozens of people are still missing.
“It literally looks like a bomb dropped,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Thursday.