Gov. Newsom declares state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes amid landslide – Redlands Daily Facts

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes, where deepening landslide issues have causes utility companies to cut off electrical and gas service to scores of homes, among other issues.

The proclamation is intended to speed state resources to assist in the response to the slides, though it seems focused on the utilities being shutoff rather than the land movement in general.

“Governor Gavin Newsom today proclaimed a state of emergency in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes,” the governor’s office said in a statement, “to protect public safety amid ongoing land movement that has resulted in disrupted utility services and evacuation warnings for impacted residents.”

The emergency order came after Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and RPV officials had urged the governor to get engaged in the issue in recent weeks. Hahn, whose Fourth District includes the Palos Verdes Peninsula, said on Monday she was frustrated residents were not given time to prepare for the power shut off. The supervisor, though, was quick to praise Newsom and, in a Tuesday statement, thanked him for taking action.

“This declaration comes just at the right time as people are not only seeing their homes crumble around them, but have now also been cut off from power,” Hahn said in the statement. “This situation is bigger than the city or even the county. I appreciate the state for recognizing the enormity of this crisis.”

State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, whose district includes the Peninsula as well, said in a Tuesday statement that he also welcomed the governor’s declaration. Muratsuchi joined the cry from Hahn and RPV officials for Newsom to come and tour the area.

“The current situation is dire, with residents losing their homes and, more recently, their gas and electricity,” the assemblymember said. “I invite the governor to meet with the residents and to witness this catastrophe personally.”

Ahead of a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, City Manager Ara Mihranian said Newsom’s move provides RPV with the ability to seek reimbursement for costs the city has already incurred. But, he cautioned, the emergency pertained specifically only to the power shut off.

“It deploys financial assistance as well as access to some resources specific to the response to the deenergization by SCE for the Portuguese Bend and Seaview neighborhoods,” Mihranian said.

For residents in the Portuguese Bend area, news of the governor’s declaration came as a relief.

Suzanne Hoffman, who recently had a city inspector sign off on a propane tank and applicance conversion, said she was hopeful.

Tim Kelly, another Portuguese Bend resident making do without two major utilities, said the governor’s emergency declaration is a good start — but there are other questions that remain.

“What does it mean? Does it free up money?” Kelly said, adding the priority should be to spend money to help the most vulnerable first. After that, he said, things will get a lot more complicated.

“We primarily have to get rid of the nuisance that has caused this whole problem, the water,” Kelly said. “Nobody knows what we have to fix yet.”

State emergency declarations, similarly to local ones, are intended to free up resources — including money — and cut redtape to allow authorities to address an urgent problem more quickly and efficiently than would otherwise be possible.

State emergency declarations are regularly issued for natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes and flooding. The governor typically issues those declarations shortly after the natural disaster — and sometimes while they’re ongoing. But RPV has been waiting for a state declaration related to the land movement for months.

The impetus for the landslide to accelarate was the severe winter storms the region experiences the last two winters. The ongoing movement has caused houses to slowly break apart, fissures to open up and power lines to fall — sparking fires.

Rancho Palos Verdes residents were dealt the latest blow on Labor Day, as more than 100 homes were added to the list of residences losing electricity, Southern California Edison officials announced on Monday amid the worsening land movement in the area.

By 7:21 p.m. Monday, power was shut down to 105 homes in the Seaview area, Edison officials announced. Most of those shutoffs will be temporary, lasting from 24 hours to a few weeks, the utility company said.

Earlier, amid enduring worries about worsening land movement in the area, Edison cut off power to 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend community and the city responded by posted an evacuation warning. That power shutdown, on Sunday, arrived weeks after gas service was cut off in that neighborhood.

SCE spokesperson Jim Hanggi called the scenario “dangerous” and “a fluid situation” on Monday. There is potential for more electricity customers to have their power shut off in the future, he warned, as Edison continues to monitor the problem.

“SCE’s determination that another neighborhood needs to be partially de-energized speaks to the dynamic nature of this land movement and the challenges those neighborhoods, the city and our partner agencies and utilities are facing,” Mayor John Cruikshank said Monday. “At (Tuesday night’s) City Council meeting, we will consider taking actions to help our residents innovate and engineer solutions to preserve their homes.”

Those actions the council was poised to weigh include regulations for residents to place mobile homes or other similar structures that don’t require foundations on properties with already existing, but unsafe, houses, according to the staff report for the council meeting.

As for preserving structures, the ordinance would create regulations for “placing homes on cargo structures and other leveling systems, such as I-beams, and installing alternative foundation systems to help maintain the integrity of the structure as the land shifts,” the staff report said.

The City Council will also weigh whether to extend its moratorium on new construction within the landslide area until Oct. 2, 2025; the current moratorium, which has already been extended once, is set to expire in October.

Cruikshank on Monday also reiterated what officials and residents have been saying for weeks — that the city can’t solve the deepening problem of land movement alone.

“State and federal assistant and engagement on this issue is more critical than ever,” Cruikshank added, “and reaffirm our call for help.”

On Monday, Cal OES spokesperson Amy Palmer said that office has been working with Los Angeles County officials for about a year, providing assistance and guidance on various issues.

“The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services remains in communication with the City, County, and FEMA on the dynamic situation in Rancho Palos Verdes,” Palmer said, “including the recent actions by local utilities, as we evaluate the appropriate next steps.”

That set the stage for Tuesday’s state emergency order.

“All agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan,” the order says. “Also, all residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.”

The steady, creeping landslide has rattled the area for many months. It has upended roadways, closed beloved hiking trails, shuttered the iconic Wayfarers Chapel and left a growing number of residents without gas or electricity.

Just last week, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council extended a local emergency, spurred by the land movement that increased following the heavy rains that impacted the area starting in the spring of 2023.

But it seems the power going off over Labor Day weekend was the catalyst for the governor to intervene and declare an emergency.

For residents, it’s something.

“If we can get any kind of assistance, that’s good,” said Mike Chiles, who was driving his wife up to Lake Havasu to escape landslide woes at their RPV residence. “It’s really good.”

Michael Hixon contributed to this report.

Originally Published: September 3, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.