Landslide destroys Southern California home and threatens at least two others

LOS ANGELES  — A landslide destroyed a hillside home and imperiled at least two others in Los Angeles early Wednesday.

The slide occurred just before 3 a.m. in Sherman Oaks, a neighborhood of expensive homes about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of downtown. An initial search found no victims, but several people were evacuated from one house, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the landslide, but numerous slides have happened in Southern California due to drenching winter storms that saturated the ground.

News helicopter video revealed the extent of the slide. The destroyed house, which appeared to be in the midst of a renovation, was reduced to a jumble of lumber. Next door, the slide pulled a pool and deck area away from a house. Up the hill, the slide left a tennis court and pool on the edge of a huge fissure.

“Department of Building and Safety is responding to assess the structures and hillsides,” the Fire Department said.

Southern California has seen a lull in storms in recent days, but slides and rockfalls have continued. Some rain could return this weekend, the National Weather Service said.