BURIED IN WOES SEASIDE VILLAGE RESIDENTS TRY TO RECOVER FROM DEADLY SLIDE, HOPING GOVERNMENT WILL HELP.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer LA CONCHITA - First thing each morning, Ernie Garcia pads into his kitchen to gaze up at ``the damn hill'' that killed 10 of his neighbors and buried as many homes. For the three months since heavy winter rainstorms unleashed the ridge and sent a wall of mud ripping through this seaside village, Garcia and his neighbors have read its fate - and that of La Conchita - like a cup of swirling tea leaves. ``I see the imprint of a hand, or a foot,'' said Garcia, 78, studying the strands of moisture leaching from the 600-foot scarp scarp: see escarpment. above his home. ``I just look to see if it's wet or dry, to see if there's anything that has fallen down. ``I ride my bicycle. I get depressed. What can I do?'' Not much. But the 170 or so free spirits who remain in this funky strand of trailers and bungalows hope to save one of the last middle-class beach communities from San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. to Sausalito. They hope Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] will soon fulfill his promise to make their community safe. And they pray Ventura County officials will seek the millions in federal dollars needed to shore up a cliff that some say threatens not only La Conchita but Highway 101 and the Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebr. line between Northern and Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``It just gets me,'' said Garcia, a retiree from Burbank. ``The government does nothing here. After they accounted for all the victims, they just left an eyesore eye·sore n. Something, such as a distressed building, that is unpleasant or offensive to view. eyesore Noun something very ugly Noun 1. , a big pile of dirt.'' Geologists have called the sandy bluff above La Conchita blanketed with chartreuse chartreuse (shärtr  z`), liqueur made exclusively by Carthusians at their monastery, La Grande Chartreuse, France, until their expulsion in 1903. mustard flowers one of the most slide-prone areas in the country. After heavy rains in 1995, 600,000 tons of mud and silt collapsed on the narrow hamlet, wedged between the 101 and the cliff, covering nine homes in 10 minutes. No one was hurt. Then just after noon last Jan. 10, 450,000 tons of soil cut loose on La Conchita at an estimated rate of 30 feet per second. In 20 terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. seconds, 10 residents - including three sisters between 2 and 10 years old - lay dead beneath the dust and debris. Though earlier estimates were higher, county officials now report 10 homes destroyed, six homes condemned and seven homes yellow-tagged for limited entry. ``I heard a sound; it sounded like a tornado - just things breaking, rending rend v. rent or rend·ed, rend·ing, rends v.tr. 1. To tear or split apart or into pieces violently. See Synonyms at tear1. 2. , crashing, a sound so loud you can't identify it,'' said Burbank native Larry MacDonough, 57, who heard the slide from his single-wide trailer rental. Of six homes destroyed on his street, two remain - smashed at jaunty jaun·ty adj. jaun·ti·er, jaun·ti·est 1. Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk. 2. Crisp and dapper in appearance; natty. 3. Archaic a. Stylish. b. Genteel. angles behind a chain-link barrier. Days after the disaster, Schwarzenegger appeared before TV cameras near La Conchita promising refugees he would terminate the destruction. ``We'll do everything we can to make this a safe area,'' the governor declared. ``Because I totally understand - there's no one that wants to be chased out of their neighborhood town or village. ``We just have to figure out a way to protect them.'' Today, a colorful memorial stands atop mounds of rubble. The village's only gas station and market are slated to open this month. While an estimated 30 renters have left the 81-year-old community with federal and Red Cross assistance, homeowners have been returning to wild nasturtiums, blooming roses, picket fences This article is about the television series. For the fence variety, see Picket fence. For the radio/telephony term, see Picket fencing. Picket Fences - and priceless views of the Pacific. And no one, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. La Conchita community leaders, has snapped up low-ball offers from real estate agents to buy their homes for between $200,000 and $400,000 - homes that were worth more than $500,000 before the slide. Despite federal loan offers to relocate, only two homeowners have moved - and they kept their homes. Some have even braved living in their red- or yellow-tagged abodes. La Conchita is a close community of extended families and friends who go back decades, when coastal land was so affordable it was snapped up by Los Angeles city workers, Burbank Lockheed employees and surfers and artists. ``We love it here; it's wonderful,'' said Ruth Dean, 80, who planned to return last Saturday to her trailer of 36 years after three months in Carpinteria following the slide. ``I wouldn't want to live someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. else. ``I'm coming back; I want to. I don't think there's going to be any more rain - the rain was what scared me.'' Dean, a native of Reseda, wears a gold Los Angeles police locket, Badge No. 4541, in honor of her son, Officer Clarence Wayne Dean, who was killed in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake as he rode his motorcycle along the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. . Others were less sure. ``I have thoughts about staying,'' said James Cairns Cairns, city (1991 pop. 64,463), Queensland, NE Australia, on Trinity Bay. It is a principal sugar port of Australia; lumber and other agricultural products are also exported. The city's proximity to the Great Barrier Reef has made it a tourist center. , 45, a 10-year resident who moved into his VW Microbus mi·cro·bus n. pl. mi·cro·bus·es or mi·cro·bus·ses A station wagon in the shape of a small bus. after his rental room was red- tagged. ``Then I look at the mountain and it changes 'em. I don't want to die.'' What some residents want is the county to clear the wrecked homes and debris so that they can rebuild. County officials contend that if they move the debris, more may fall. Others want the deadly cliff terraced and other steps taken to protect the 160 homes. The cost is estimated at $20 million to $30 million. Mike Bell, an unofficial spokesman of La Conchita, insisted that more than half the village is safe from a slope north of the slide that hasn't moved in a century, according to surveys. Bell, who grew up in Van Nuys, praised county workers for a diligent cleanup, but he had harsh words for the Ventura County supervisors who he said have refused to discuss applying for federal funding necessary to either fix the hill or buy residents' homes at fair market value. ``To have to go through this twice in 10 years is traumatic, discombobulating. To have friends killed, neighbors, is disturbing to say the least,'' said Bell, chairman of the La Conchita Community Organization. ``And to have the county do nothing and give us nothing but trouble is like rubbing salt into a wound.'' At issue, he said, are whether a retaining wall built by the county after the '95 slide diverted debris into peoples' homes in '05, and whether the hill poses a greater risk to Highway 101 and the railway. His hope: Schwarzenegger will deliver on his promise. But though the state Office of Emergency Services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' has plans to help residents harmed by recent rainfall, officials say there are no plans to fix the hill above La Conchita. ``There's no federal money that I'm aware of that can go to fix the problem,'' said OES spokesman Eric Lamoureux, designated by the Governor's Office to speak on the La Conchita issue. ``A number of geologists since the slide have gone in and declared the area unsafe.'' He said it was up to county officials to apply for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical to buy out homeowners at risk in La Conchita. Neither county Supervisor Kathy Long nor Supervisor Steve Bennett, in whose district La Conchita resides, returned calls Friday. ``The county has been talking to FEMA FEMA, n.pr See Federal Emergency Management Agency. and state OES to see about getting funding, (but) we're at the mercy of FEMA regulations,'' said Alberto Boada, an attorney for Ventura County. ``The county is, in a sense, in a response mode - we've posted all the warnings and are prepared to deal with any legal actions that may transpire.'' Chuck Youmans, 63, said when he moved to La Conchita 28 years ago no one mentioned anything about landslides, even old-timers from the '30s. ``My house isn't worth anything now, so where can I go?'' he said of his home facing the beach once valued at $600,000. ``This is still one of the old '50s beach communities that exist in California. It's kind of a bygone era. On a beautiful day like this, I can look out from my second-story window and see the islands off Santa Barbara.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos, 2 maps Photo: (1 -- color) Isaiah Womack waters the dirt in which wildflower wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. seeds were planted around a memorial for victims of January's mudslide in La Conchita. His father, Charles Womack, was killed when the hillside came crashing down on the town. (2 -- color) At left, a photo of Charles Womack is nestled in a plant along a fence at the memorial for victims of the La Conchita mudslide. Ten residents lost their lives. (3 -- color) The mud that came crashing down on the coastal homes of La Conchita has dried out, and plants are now sprouting among the destroyed and condemned homes. (4 -- color) Mike Bell, chairman of the La Conchita Community Organization, says Ventura County is not helping the town recover, likening lik·en tr.v. lik·ened, lik·en·ing, lik·ens To see, mention, or show as similar; compare. [Middle English liknen, from like, similar; see like2 it to ``rubbing salt into a wound.'' Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Map: (1) La Conchita (2) Homes damaged Daily News |
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