Rancho Palos Verdes resident faces power cutoff amid land movement crisis; Officials urge Governor's help

Land movement cutting power to RPV homes

The ongoing land movement crisis is forcing more homes in Rancho Palos Verdes to have their power cut off.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - More Rancho Palos Verdes homes are having their electricity cut off for safety's sake.

"The last thing we want to do is turn off the power," said Reggie Kumar, from SoCal Edison. "But due to the accelerated ground movement we have to shut off the power to keep everyone safe."

After the Sunday cutoff of 140 residents in Portuguese Bend now 105 homes in the Seaview part of Rancho Palos Verdes are having their electricity cutoff. That's an additional 105 homes.

Rancho Palos Verdes City Councilman David Bradley showed us where 47 homes will only be shut off for 24 hours as crews add some underground equipment. According to Kumar, 38 will be cut off for two to three weeks and another 20 which will be shut off indefinitely.

"That's a lot more than I thought it was going to be. There's not much we can really do about it if the land keeps moving like that," said Elijah Ramos, 18. He lives in an area where power may be out for up to three weeks.

Councilman Bradley, who says geologists say the best way to deal with it is getting the water out of the ground that's making the situation worse, but he and other local leaders want the Governor to intervene.

"We don't have fiscal resources to retard the land movement," Bradley said.

Bradley showed us two houses in Seaview that were red tagged a few months ago and a section of road in Seaview that has sunk.

Bradley's message to California Governor Gavin Newsom?

"Gavin," Bradley said "We need your help."