California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for the city of Rancho Palos Verdes after the risk of ongoing mudslides recently forced authorities to cut power to more than 200 homes in two of the city's neighborhoods, with some facing indefinite power outages.
In the statement, Newsom said ground movement beneath the city that sits atop the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula has accelerated significantly following severe storms in 2023 and 2024 and is “now sliding at an average of 9 to 12 inches per week.”
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has been coordinating with emergency response officials in Los Angeles County for nearly a year, supporting the local assistance center, facilitating a federal mitigation grant to support recent groundwater construction work in the area, and assisting officials with initial damage estimates, the statement said.
The power outage not only affects residents' daily lives, but also raises new security concerns, as power is needed for telecommunications lines, the sewage system and pumps that help slow the movement of the earth by expelling the groundwater that geologists say causes it.
The statement issued Tuesday morning comes two days after Southern California Edison announced plans to shut off power to 140 homes in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood, where gas service was shut off about a month ago, and 105 homes in the Seaview neighborhood. The shutoffs are designed to reduce the risk that ground movement could spark a wildfire if power lines remain energized, officials said.
The emergency declaration directs all state agencies to provide equipment and assistance to local authorities to respond to the emergency and requires residents of affected neighborhoods to obey orders from emergency officials.
While Edison officials say there was no single issue that led to their decision, they did note that a small fire started near Narcissa Drive in Portuguese Bend on Thursday when a power line fell and ignited nearby vegetation. It was quickly extinguished, Rancho Palos Verdes officials said.
In Seaview, power outages affect 47 homes for 24 hours, 38 properties for one to three weeks and 20 homes indefinitely.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn had been pleading with the governor to visit the affected community and “see the landslide for himself.” She said in a statement Tuesday that the “declaration comes at just the right time as people are not only seeing their homes collapse around them, but they have also been left without power. This situation is bigger than the [c]ity or even the [c]county.”
On Tuesday, Edison set up an information site at the Ladera Linda Community Center, just above the Seaview neighborhood. Among the visitors to the facility was Seaview resident Paul Midford.
Midford said he lost power shortly after 7 p.m. Monday, which he said has been difficult, “but so far it’s not too bad.” His home is among the properties that will be without power for several weeks.
“The stuff in the freezer and the fridge hasn’t gone bad yet, but it’s just a matter of time and that’s going to be a mess we’re going to have to deal with,” Midford said.
For one night, he said, he relied on emergency lamps to light his home, but he lacked electricity and internet and had only a poor cell signal.
Midford said his family was deciding whether to temporarily stay at a nearby hotel while the situation develops.
Before Monday, it was difficult to determine whether her home would be affected by the power outage. Midford said she checked her Edison customer account online, but there was no alert that her home would lose power. She also called the customer service line, but said the person on the other end of the line could not tell her for sure whether her home would lose power or not.
The city has issued an evacuation warning for the Portuguese Bend neighborhood, but many residents have decided to stay home for now, with some relying on generators.
