4 Apartments Unsafe After Landslide In San Clemente, OC Congressman Seeks Federal Aid

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — Four apartment buildings in San Clemente remained evacuated Thursday after a landslide left the rear of the buildings in danger of tumbling down a steep hillside.

The hillside collapse and the subsequent evacuation of all 20 units in the four buildings prompted U.S. Congressman Mike Levin to ask President Joe Biden to include Orange County in the ongoing Presidential Emergency Declaration.

His plea referenced the landslide in San Clemente, along with weather-related Pacific Coast Highway closures that strained traffic in Dana Point and Huntington Beach Thursday.

"As a result of the ongoing heavy rains across our region, Orange County communities are experiencing flooding conditions that have led to landslides and cliff erosion," Levin wrote in his letter.

Orange County Fire Authority crews responded to the scene in the 1500 block of Buena Vista at around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday. The hillside that the buildings were built on collapsed after a night of steady rain, leaving parts of the structures teetering over the edge and ripping out one building's back patio.

No injuries were reported.

The four buildings were all yellow tagged, meaning their habitability was limited, and city crews were on the scene to assess the structures, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. They were later downgraded to red-tagged, meaning it was too dangerous for them to be inhabited.

Residents were urged to avoid the area.

Buena Vista was closed from Avenida Florencio to Calle Colina, along with the beach trail below the landslide between North Beach and El Portal.

"We're coming up with a plan for what we're going to do next," OCFA Capt. Thanh Nguyen said of the agency's work with sheriff's deputies and city and utility officials.

"We're closely watching the adjacent neighborhood here ... I would strongly encourage residents in the surrounding area to be prepared to evacuate should the (evacuation order) be extended."
The city was working to assist evacuated residents.