Debris removal is expected to begin Wednesday in a Hollywood Hills neighborhood where a landslide took out much of a home’s backyard and sent mud into the front yards of two houses — one of them believed to be owned by pop star Demi Lovato — across the street below.
The hillside was being assessed by geotechnical experts for safety and debris removal, according to Kate Hutton of the city Emergency Management Department.
“City crews will converge on the site (Wednesday) morning to begin the debris removal process to re-open the street,” she said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the landslide, which occurred around 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two homes at the top of the hillside were yellow-tagged, and the two others below were red-tagged, said Jeff Napier of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The red tag bars anyone from entering the home, while a yellow tag allows limited access.
The mud did not enter the houses below, but did take out power lines, causing an outage in the area, and buried at least one vehicle, according to Scott. Power has since been restored.
“A total of five homes were evacuated as a precaution,” Scott said Monday night. The number of evacuees was not immediately known.
About 50 firefighters, including an air unit, responded to the scene Monday, Scott said.
“Residents of one home called 911 and stated they were unable to get out,” Scott said, adding that firefighters brought them to safety.
Napier said the slope failure was a class 1 landslide, meaning it involved bedrock, but a cause was not immediately available.
With rain in the local forecast for later this week, more “slippage along area hillsides is possible,” Hutton said.
One of the affected homes at the bottom of the landslide is an $8.3 million mansion owned by Lovato, according to the celebrity news website TMZ, which reported that the singer/actress purchased the property in September but has not yet moved in.
—City News Service