
A state of emergency was declared on Tuesday by California Governor Gavin Newsom in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, which has experienced severe land shifting that’s threatening to disrupt power lines and cause other hazards for people living there.
According to the proclamation the governor gave, emergency officials are now able to direct resources from the state so they can respond to the land movement properly.
There are more than 200 homes in the city, which is located about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, that had to have their power cut off on Monday. This was due to the fact that a ground shift that’s been happening for a while now has started to threaten some utility lines.
As an official with Newsom’s office said:
“The city is located on four out of five sub-slides that comprise the Greater Portuguese Landslide Complex. Land movement at part of the Complex has significantly accelerated following severe storms in 2023 and 2024.”
Barbara Ferraro, who is a member of the City Council in Rancho Palos Verdes, commented over the weekend:
“This is unprecedented. No one knows really, in a way, what to do.”
On Sunday, Southern California Edison was forced to cut electricity service to 140 homes in a community in the region. The company says that the outage will be indefinite at this point because utility poles are being threatened by the shifting ground, which significantly increases the risk of fires breaking out.
As Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for SoCal Edison, told reporters recently:
“There was a fire last week. It was a small fire, but the fire was caused when one of our lines fell because of land movement, and that shows how dangerous this area is.”
On Monday night, 105 more customers lost their power, as the utility company is monitoring the continuing threat that’s happening.
The oceanfront community of Rancho Palos Verdes was first incorporated as an independent city back in 1973. The land has been shifting in the region for decades now, according to officials, but the problem has been getting much worse in recent years.
David Bradley, another member of the City Council, said recently:
“The movement has accelerated dramatically over the last 12 months, where some areas are moving up to 10 inches a week. You can almost see the ground move.”
Robert Luna, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, said that law enforcement agencies are stepping up their patrols in the community and using drones to look for people who might be looting. This is all being done to encourage local residents to heed any evacuation warnings that are issued.
As he said during a Sunday news conference:
“You’re going to jail if you come here to steal anything.”
The city has been under a local state of emergency since October of last year. The Portuguese Bend neighborhood has had their natural gas service shut off since July 29.
Janice Hahn, the Fourth District Supervisor, said they now have $5 million at their disposal from Los Angeles County as well.