41°Good Morning
An aerial view shows a property damaged by a landslide,...

An aerial view shows a property damaged by a landslide, Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles. A landslide has destroyed the hillside home and is imperiling at least two others in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Jae C. Hong

LOS ANGELES — A landslide reduced a Los Angeles house under renovation to a jumble of lumber, pulled the pool and deck away from a second home, and left the pool at a third residence on the edge of a huge fissure early Wednesday.

The slide occurred just before 3 a.m. in Sherman Oaks, a neighborhood of expensive homes about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of downtown. An initial search found no victims, but several people were evacuated from one house, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the landslide, but numerous slides have happened in Southern California due to drenching winter storms that saturated the ground.

Since Jan. 1, downtown LA has had almost 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain, which is nearly twice what it normally gets by this time of year. By early February, the city had reported nearly 600 mudslides, had re-tagged 16 buildings as unsafe to enter and had yellow-tagged more than 30 others, limiting access to them.

News helicopter video revealed the extent of the slide. The destroyed house, which appeared to be in the midst of a renovation, was crushed with most of its roof lying on the ground. Next door, the slide pulled a pool and deck area away from a house.

Up the hill, the slide left a tennis court and pool on the edge of a huge fissure. A table and chairs that used to be poolside stood on a patch of deck on the other side of the gaping fissure. Firefighters drained the pool to reduce weight on the hill.

“Department of Building and Safety is responding to assess the structures and hillsides,” the Fire Department said.

An aerial view shows a property, bottom, damaged by a...

An aerial view shows a property, bottom, damaged by a landslide, Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles. A landslide has destroyed the hillside home and is imperiling at least two others in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Jae C. Hong

Southern California has seen a lull in storms in recent days, but slides and rockfalls have continued. Sections of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and State Route 27 through Topanga Canyon west of Los Angeles have been especially hard-hit.

South of LA, a notable slide in the city of Dana Point left an ocean view estate on the edge of a coastal bluff.

Some rain could return this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      Ponquogue Bridge reopens ... Jobs terminated at NOAA ... LI's first Black state senator Credit: Newsday

      Deadly parking lot attack ... Feed Me: Wegmans shopping tips ... Bird flu cases rise ... Trump, Zelenskyy Oval Office blowup

      Video Player is loading.
      Current Time 0:00
      Duration 0:00
      Loaded: 0%
      Stream Type LIVE
      Remaining Time 0:00
       
      1x
        • Chapters
        • descriptions off, selected
        • captions off, selected
          Ponquogue Bridge reopens ... Jobs terminated at NOAA ... LI's first Black state senator Credit: Newsday

          Deadly parking lot attack ... Feed Me: Wegmans shopping tips ... Bird flu cases rise ... Trump, Zelenskyy Oval Office blowup

          SUBSCRIBE

          Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

          ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME