4 San Clemente apartment buildings evacuated due to landslide as OCFA prepares for more

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (KABC) -- Four apartment buildings in San Clemente were evacuated Wednesday due to a landslide that left the back of the structures in danger of crumbling down the hillside.

It happened in the 1500 block of Buena Vista just after 8 a.m. Crews with the Orange County Fire Authority were quickly rushed to the scene where they conducted a full search of the buildings and evacuated all residents. All buildings have since been yellow-tagged.

OOCFA says the landslide made it all the way to the train tracks below, taking it with it part of someone's backyard and patio furniture.

"It's not a surprise," said Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the OCFA. "With the amount of rain that we've gotten and how much the landscape has been saturated with rain."

No injuries were reported.

Buena Vista from Avenida Florencio to Calle Colina were closed along with the trail that sits below the impacted area.

For residents of the evacuated homes, they recall the scary moment they were evacuated, as they quickly grabbed what they could and now are just waiting for the land under their homes to be deemed safe by authorities.

"Not much time," said CJ Smith, whose home was evacuated. "Just grab the essentials and pack a bag and wait and listen. And, wait for the assessment and the structural engineers to make a determination if it's safe or not."

Another resident, Clayton Robinson, said thanks to the landslide, he may have lost everything.

"It's possible we've lost everything," said Robinson. "We called our insurance and they said, well, they don't cover hills going down. So all we have left is our faith in God."

For now, authorities will continue to monitor the landscape to see if it continues to move. Residents in surrounding buildings have been asked to be prepared in case evacuation orders are expanded.

For those already evacuated, it becomes a waiting game as the shock of the landslide begins to settle in.

"You don't know what to think," said Salvador Olvera, whose home was evacuated. "We don't live in this situation all the time, and you'd never think it's happen to me."