To the editor: A California-certified geological engineer who has worked on landslides for decades writes that the state should require homes in the Portuguese Bend landslide zone to be dismantled and residents to vacate. (“Why Homes Were Built in the Rancho Palos Verdes Landslide. It’s Not the City’s Fault,” letters, Sept. 9)
I have lived in this area of Rancho Palos Verdes, where there are active landslides, for decades and have no plans to leave. Our house is on steel beams and is moving along with the landslide, and we will be going off the grid now that the power has been cut.
My parents bought our property in 1948. I was 11 years old when the landslide was triggered in 1956 when Los Angeles County attempted to widen Crenshaw Boulevard.
Geologists knew the area sat on an ancient, dormant landslide, but the county failed to notify parcel buyers of this fact. The people who stayed behind figured out how to be flexible and resilient.
Now, two years of heavy rains have caused the earth movement to accelerate and expand, but there are solutions that can slow it down if funding is found.
By the way, all of California is in danger if a big earthquake hits. I feel safer here than in the Los Angeles basin.
Tony Baker, Palos Verdes Ranch
