A stretch of Mulholland Drive is expected to remain closed for at least a portion of Wednesday following a mud and debris flow that prompted the evacuation of a hilltop home in the Beverly Crest area.
No injuries or physical entrapments were reported as a result of Tuesday’s flow, which was reported about 8:35 a.m. in the 13100 block of Mulholland Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Still, as a precaution, the city of Los Angeles’ Emergency Management Department announced early Tuesday afternoon that the section of Mulholland between Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Deep Canyon Drive was being ordered closed to through traffic “for 24 hours — minimum — until rains cease.”
LAFD Capt. Erik Scott noted that, with more rain in the forecast, the road will remain blocked until the storm system passes.
Scott said that, on Tuesday, one of several terraced retaining walls on a one-third-acre residential property gave way and that a “portion of the backyard of a steeply terraced home gave way and slid approximately 50 feet downhill into a power pole and onto Mulholland Drive.”
Despite a power pole being struck, no power was disrupted in the area, he said.
Fire crews and building inspectors evaluated four homes in the area, but only one was determined to be of immediate concern, Scott said.
“As a precaution, an elderly male resident and his caretaker were calmly evacuated from the premises and are temporarily staying with a neighbor,” he said. “The home of concern was eventually yellow-tagged by the Department of Building and Safety, not allowing anybody into the backyard. However, the residents are now allowed back into their house.”
The area has seen strong rainstorm activity in the past few days. But officials said the fire department could not determine the specific cause of the debris flow.
“Because the debris flow is threatening a power pole and mud remains on Mulholland Drive, that mountain top thoroughfare will remain fully closed between Coldwater Canyon Avenue on the east and Deep Canyon Drive on the west until L.A. City agencies can comprehensively assess and address the situation,” officials said late Tuesday morning.
Scott added that other homes below the area “are several hundred feet down and are not threatened.”