Tons of landslide material will remain on Laurel View Drive another night, but after further assessment, it's expected crews will begin removing the earth in Wednesday morning, according to Los Angeles City officials.
City engineering, building, and soil experts spent much of Tuesday investigating the stability of a hillside where a landslide took out much of a home's backyard and sent mud into the front yards of two houses across the street below.
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.
"A large backyard of one home on Hillside Avenue slid downhill and across the (8100 block) of Laurel View Drive into the front yard of two homes," Scott said.
The home at the top of the hillside was yellow-tagged, and the two others below were red-tagged, said David Lara, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The red tag bars anyone from entering the home, while a yellow tag allows only limited entry. Tuesday another home on Laurel View was also yellow tagged.
The slide closed Laurel View and cut off access to a large mansion at the end. It had been purchased by entertainer Demi Lovato, but was not occupied at the time off the landslide. It was not tagged, city officials said, but is inaccessible until slide material is removed.
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.
"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.
Personnel from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, the Southern California Gas Co. and the city Department of Water and Power were sent to the scene, Scott said.
