A Pacific Palisades home that narrowly survived a local fire was severely damaged by a landslide this week.
Photos of the wreckage showed the single-family home completely split in half. The approximately 1,000-square-foot home was listed as a rental on Zillow last year.
Brian Kirkwood, who was hired to provide security for the homes that survived the fire, told KTLA that the landslide likely originated from the home directly above.
“This is devastating. I never expected it to be this bad,” Kirkwood told the station. “I didn’t watch the news, so I came out here and watched it, and it didn’t hit me until now. Wow. This is a big deal.”
Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is working with the California Department of Transportation to shore up areas where the fires occurred and the soil is weak.
“To address this, we are developing plans in both regions to capture and deter this debris as much as possible during wet weather,” Pestrela said at a press conference Thursday.
Landslides can be triggered by rainfall, in which water from long gunfire soaks weak or loose soil and slides it downhill.
“No matter where you live in Los Angeles County, if you have a slope behind your house or live on a slope, those slopes are vulnerable,” Pestrella said. “Soil that supports homes” [has] Everything is fragile and hurt because of the events we have experienced (including the wind). …There is a risk of debris flow even when it is not raining, so please be careful. ”
Times staff writer Grace Twohey contributed to this report.
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