3 Newport Beach homes are yellow-tagged after sudden landslide

The city has yellow-tagged three homes overlooking Newport Beach’s Back Bay after an early morning landslide on Galaxy Drive pushed most of one home’s backyard down the hillside and destabilized two neighboring properties.

The landslide occurred around 4 a.m. on Thursday, April 4, said Seimone Jurjis, the city’s assistant city manager. City crews were out immediately and were on site Thursday assessing the situation as the land continued to move, he said.

Residents of the house most affected have been asked to leave the property. Jurjis said the residents of the two neighboring homes have been advised not to use their backyards.

A geotechnical consultant and city engineers were detecting more land movement Thursday, he said, adding the slope beneath the homes where the slide occurred belongs to the state. There are no homes below, just the open space of the Back Bay.

While the slide happened suddenly, Jurjis said residents had some indication there was land movement happening beneath the most affected home and had come to the city on Wednesday to pull stabilization permits.

“It failed this morning before they could do anything,” he said.

Steven Peisner, whose home was yellow-tagged but not evacuated, said he heard “a clank from the backyard” and could see flower pots from the neighbor’s property in his yard, but it was hard to make out the initial damage in the black of the still early morning hour.

As dawn broke, though, he got a clearer view and saw that his staircase made from railroad ties was gone down the hill, he said. When he looked at his neighbor’s yard, the entire backyard was missing, he said.

“It looked like it was on an elevator that dropped 10 to 12 feet,” Peisner said.

He was out Thursday placing sandbags at vulnerable spots around his property ahead of the storm forecasted to roll in overnight.

He said he wouldn’t be surprised if there was more land movement over the next couple of days, pointing out already damaged areas along the homes.

According to city records, there have been previous slides in the location. In 1998, several properties in the same area did stabilization repairs. It was unclear Thursday morning if the presently affected homes were part of that group, Jurjis said.

A landslide on Galaxy Drive last year that forced the demolition of a home was about six blocks away, Jurjis said.

“While we’re gathering information, our first thought is with our residents,” Mayor Will O’Neill said. “We will work closely with our sister government agencies, including the state and the county.”

Despite the destruction, Peisner said a landslide happening isn’t a complete surprise.

“When you live in paradise on a slope, there’s a price to pay,” he said. “You know this stuff can happen.”