Hollywood Hills debris flow takes out power lines, threatens homes

HOLLYWOOD HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A hillside gave way in the Hollywood Hills Monday evening, sending mud and debris tumbling down into the yards of at least two homes and knocking out power in the neighborhood.

The landslide buried two power poles and took down power lines, creating a power outage in the neighborhood. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said about 422 customers were without power. The electricity was restored to most customers by around 8 p.m. the agency said.

The incident is in the 8100 block of Laurel View Drive, near Crescent Heights Boulevard. The backyard of a home on Hillside Avenue slid down onto the front yard of two homes on Laurel View, officials said, but did not enter the homes. The debris did bury at least one vehicle.

The homes themselves appeared to escape major damage, officials said.

After the initial landslide, the ground continued to shift and fall down the hillside more than once.

The Los Angeles Fire Department estimated more than 20 tons of earth came down the hill.

Dogs checked the rubble for trapped people, but did not find any.

A gas leak was also reported in the area. A Southern California Gas Co. crew turned off the gas at homes affected by the landslide. They said the debris also buried the natural gas meter set assembly at a fourth home on Laurel View.

Fire crews that responded to the area say they were able to walk people out of one of the affected homes who had called 911 because they were unable to exit on their own.

It appears no was injured in the landslide.

Five homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Two homes were red-tagged and officials are still trying to evaluate the conditions to see if there is a risk of additional flows and damage to more homes.

Traffic is continuing to be allowed to move on nearby Laurel Canyon.