by Stephen Edwards, a 63-year-old music composer, lost his Pacific Palisades home in the fire that has been burning in the neighborhood for a week and a half.
Edwards thought he had an alternative: a second house he owns in the same area and which he normally uses as a rental property.
That home had survived the fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,000 structures so far, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
But about a week ago, Edwards’ rental home split in two after a landslide caused his neighbor’s house to crash into it.
“It was a cool place to play music, be super chill and chill,” Edwards said of the home away from home. “You could look at the water and listen to the waves. It was incredible.”
He doesn’t know whether his insurance or his neighbor’s insurance will cover the damage from the incident.
Stephen Edwards’ home in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday. It survived the fire but was severely damaged by a landslide.
The landslide that affected Edwards’ home may not be the only one caused by the extreme fires in the greater Los Angeles area, as wildfires are known to cause ground instability.
“The next monster is debris flows and landslides,” said Farshid Vahedifard, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University.
Vegetation, particularly plant roots, help anchor the soil in place, Vahedifard said, allowing loose soil to move more easily after burning. In addition, the accumulation of ash on the ground can prevent water from entering the ground, subsequently leading to large amounts of runoff. Over time, the flow of water creates a path that can make it easier for dirt, debris, and even entire structures to slide downhill.
Vahedifard said many parts of Southern California have deep slopes of loose sediment, putting them at risk.
“These conditions make the area vulnerable to landslides and debris flows, especially when there are external triggers such as wildfires,” he said.
Although landslides often occur after wildfires, the process typically takes several years. A situation like Edwards’, which arose while the Palisades Fire was still raging, is relatively rare.
“Usually you need some kind of water trigger,” Vahedifard said.
Southern California has received less than a tenth of an inch of rain since early May, but in this case, Vahedifard said, “the fire fleet was the trigger.”
A warning sign at Edwards’ home in Pacific Palisades on Thursday.
Adam VanGerpen, captain of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said future landslides in the burn scars of recent fires would be a major problem once the rainy season begins.
“The homes that are in the burn scar after a fire event are the most vulnerable and vulnerable to a mudslide or debris flow around them,” VanGerpen said.
Typically, California receives about 90% of its annual precipitation from October to April. However, according to the US Drought Monitor, Southern California has remained exceptionally dry so far during the actual rainy season – the driest start in 44 years.
Once it rains, VanGerpen said, “We have to be vigilant. We must instruct homeowners to remain vigilant. And we need to have the geologists come and do soil sampling and studies and make sure the soil is stable.”
The ministry does not expect any more landslides in the near future, he added.
“It looks like there’s a lot of water flowing down that spot,” he said, referring to the location of Edwards’ home.
Vahedifard recommended that LAFD’s strategy should include a survey of the land to find the areas most vulnerable to landslides, using vegetation and slope maps as a starting point.
He also stressed that any reconstruction plans should take into account the risk of future forest fires and landslides.
“When we build in wildfire-prone areas, when we build on steep slopes or near slopes, we need to make sure our foundation is strong enough to support that load,” he said. “We need to make sure we apply some stabilization measures to keep this load stable against landslides.”
Despite his circumstances, Edwards remained optimistic Thursday. He is currently living in an Airbnb in Venice.
“I mean, we’re lucky to be outside, you know?” he said. “We are fortunate to be safe, and my wife is safe, my daughter is safe and my dogs are safe. That’s the biggest thing.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
