Gas shut off indefinitely to 135 Rancho Palos Verdes homes
Despite protests from residents and city officials, SoCalGas cut off natural gas service Monday to 135 homes in the Portuguese Bend community of Rancho Palos Verdes due to concerns about land movement that started more than a year ago.
The gas company notified residents Friday that they will indefinitely lose gas service at 9 a.m. Monday because it fears heavy winter rainfall has increased land movement that started in the spring of 2023.
Residents spent the weekend hustling to find propane and electric alternatives so they could stay in their homes, according to the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. The city was not ordering evacuations because no gas leaks have been detected and continued to request a delay to give residents more time to secure gas alternatives.
"There are residents with babies, and some with elderly spouses in diapers who need access to hot water," the city said in an update.
The city notified residents in February that "Movement in the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove and Klondike Canyon landslides (referred to as 'the landslide complex') has accelerated by a factor of three to four times in just the past few months compared to the entire previous year."
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Since spring 2023, the city has seen a significant increase in movement that has resulted in roadway damage and the red-tagging of two homes that were damaged severely enough to be dangerous to inhabit.
The land movement has also caused water and gas distribution pipes to break, displaced sanitary sewer collection pipes and made utility poles lean. On Oct. 3, 2023, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council declared a local state of emergency, which was renewed on May 8.
The mayor said utility officials, local and state leaders would be meeting at 10 a.m. to discuss next steps.
He is hoping to have service temporarily restored for 30 days or so to give residents more time to prepare.
Residents will receive $2,500 each in assistance.