Landslide damages at least 3 homes in Sherman Oaks, some residents evacuated

ByRob Hayes and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Landslide damages at least 3 homes in Sherman Oaks
Video from the scene shows a pool house and pool that sustained significant damage with large cracks on the ground.

SHERMAN OAKS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- At least three homes in Sherman Oaks were impacted by a landslide, prompting some people to be evacuated overnight.

Firefighters responded to N. Ventura Canyon Avenue around 2:51 a.m. Wednesday after reports of a large tree and wires down in the backyard of a residence, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

They discovered a large portion of the hillside had slid down toward homes in the area.

Two homes, including one that was under construction and sustained the most damage, were red-tagged, officials said. The third home was yellow-tagged.

At least three homes were impacted by a landslide overnight in Sherman Oaks. AIR7 HD's view of the scene shows the extent of the damage.

LAFD's Cody Weireter described the damage that was left behind.

"You have a large debris of mud, vegetation, trees... and rocks and concrete just come down into one of the homes that was under construction," he told Eyewitness News. "A portion of one of the homes' outdoor pool area has actually separated form that main foundation, and so obviously that's one of our biggest concerns right now."

Video from the scene shows a pool house and pool that sustained significant damage with large cracks on the ground.

Landslide damages at least 3 homes in Sherman Oaks, some residents evacuated

There were people inside two of the homes at the time of the landslide. They all safely evacuated. No injuries were reported.

"I'm concerned about the mudslide, my retaining wall and the house above me," one woman said.

The hillside near the pool of another home down the street completely dropped off. Crews pumped the water out of the pool to reduce the stress on the hillside.

"The concrete was separated and it's probably down about 30 feet from where it originally started," said LAFD's Adam VanGerpen. "A significant amount of it sloughed off. So that's our concern, the homes underneath that area."