Rolling Hills Estates landslide: 12 homes will slide into canyon, officials say

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. - Days after a dozen homes in Rolling Hills Estates were evacuated over the weekend due to a landslide, five more homes were evacuated while officials say there is nothing left to do but wait for the homes to crash down into the canyon below.

Twelve homes along Peartree Lane were red-tagged over the weekend, officials said, and eight homes were completely destroyed as the land continues to slide away.

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The land reportedly moved another 20 feet between Sunday and Monday. 

On Tuesday, the City announced that five more homes had been evacuated because of a sewer main break in the area, and on Tuesday night, the Rolling Hills Estates City Council passed a resolution declaring a local emergency in response to the slide. The declaration will allow the city to request state and federal funds to help with recovery.

This all started when the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a home on Peartree Lane on a report of a residential water leak around 4 p.m. Saturday. That's when crews noticed cracks and structural damage both inside and outside the home, prompting further investigation, according to Craig Little with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. 

Some residents said they heard cracks underneath their homes beginning Thursday.

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Officials said land movement is causing this, possibly due to the excessive rains or even an underlying because that has not yet been discovered.

County officials say the HOA has yet to have a geologist or soil expert examine the site.

Rolling Hills Estates city officials are expected to meet Tuesday night to declare a state of emergency.

Rolling Hills Estates is an affluent city located in LA's South Bay area, about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.