HISTORIC BUILDINGS MUDDIED FEMA OFFICIALS INSPECT DAMAGE AT MENTRYVILLE.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

MENTRYVILLE - This historic town and site of California's first commercially successful oil well has weathered earthquakes and fires in its 130-year existence, but the recent record-breaking storms brought mudslides, the likes of which few can recall.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited Mentryville last week to inspect the damage to the historic buildings situated in Pico Canyon, just southwest of Stevenson Ranch. Mud as high as five feet forced the resident park ranger and his family to evacuate last month.

Mentryville is closed to the public until further notice, officials said.

A massive wildfire in October 2003 that nearly destroyed the main house - known as ``the big house,'' it belonged to the town's founder and namesake, Charles Alexander Mentry - the old schoolhouse and other structures left the hillsides bare and likely contributed to the numerous mudslides.

``The park was pretty much holding together until that last storm,'' said Robert Reiss, a park ranger with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which oversees the historic town. ``And then everything let go. We knew (the rains) were coming, but I didn't think I'd lose the mountain behind my house.''

Reiss, with his wife and two children, has lived in Mentryville for more than six years, acting as both ranger and groundskeeper. The family's mobile home, situated about 70 feet from the big house, was hit hard by the heavy mud and debris washed down from the canyon above.

The rushing mud swept a washing machine, housed in a shed between the mobile home and the big house, out of the shed and up against the side of the house, where it still sits, stuck in mud that stands nearly as tall as the house's wood-planked porch.

Reiss was able to return once the rain subsided to evacuate a number of animals, including chickens, rabbits, cats, a goat and a 350-pound pig named Francesca.

``I really have to give credit to Animal Control,'' Reiss said. ``They were right here to help us. It took four big guys to get (the pig) into the truck. It wasn't easy.''

Francesca was taken to the animal shelter in Castaic, where she is being cared for until she can either return to Mentryville or be adopted by someone able to accommodate the animal.

For those who had visited the tiny canyon before the fire and recent storms, the damage to the paved parking lot and adjacent stream would perhaps be the most stunning changes.

``You can see how the parking lot has been washed out,'' Supervising Ranger Jodi Thomas said Friday as she surveyed the area. ``The bridge, the gate (over the stream) that accesses the parking lot was just washed away.''

The stream that rests between the parking lot and the buildings - generally dry in the warmer months, a languid body of water in the rainy season - was 8 to 10 feet wide before this year's storms. On Friday, the stream was at least twice that, with water rushing over large rocks, tree branches and other debris.

Officials with the MRCA said speculating about the cost of the storm damage is premature and will be determined by the FEMA inspectors.

``We plan on starting the rehabilitation process once (Mentryville) becomes approved for funds'' from FEMA, said Walt Young, chief ranger with MRCA. ``Santa Clarita areas were the worst hit of all (our) parks because of the fires (nearly) two years ago.

``Mentryville has been the hardest hit. The whole area is filled with narrow canyons so it's impossible to inspect everything,'' he said. ``This is a natural event we're talking about, so we need time just to make sure the canyons are safe and stable.''

Mentryville's most productive well, known as Pico Number 4, gushed oil in 1876 and became the first commercially successful oil well in the Western United States, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. The temptation of riches lured dozens of families to the tiny town soon after.

Following the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, Friends of Mentryville, an organization dedicated to renovation and preserving the ghost town, launched a campaign that eventually paid for crews to lift the buildings so concrete foundations could be poured to strengthen the historical structures.

``Had that not been done, these storms would have taken some of the houses out,'' Reiss said. ``It was unbelievable.''

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Supervising Park Ranger Jodi Thomas steps carefully through the mud that flowed right up to a historic home in Mentryville during recent rains. Foundation upgrades spared the home.

(2) Federal officials visited Mentryville last week to inspect the damage to the historic buildings situated in Pico Canyon.

David Crane/Staff Photographer