LANDSLIDE SEARCH OFFICIALLY ENDED RESIDENTS WARNED ABOUT RETURNING.Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer LA CONCHITA - Concluding that no one, dead or alive, remained under the tons of mud at La Conchita, rescuers halted their search Thursday and said residents might be able to return home today despite the danger of another landslide landslide, rapid slipping of a mass of earth or rock from a higher elevation to a lower level under the influence of gravity and water lubrication. More specifically, rockslides are the rapid downhill movement of large masses of rock with little or no hydraulic flow, . Ventura County officials will unveil their plan this morning for allowing residents back into the seaside town, where 10 people died Monday when a rain-saturated hillside collapsed. Officials said they had no choice but to let people return home, even though a towering mound of mud and debris remains unstable. ``We believe that the La Conchita community is a geologically hazardous area,'' Sheriff Bob Brooks said. ``It has been historically, it is today, and it will remain so. ``We don't recommend that people return to this area or that the people who stay here remain here. But we don't have the legal authority to prevent them from doing so.'' Ventura County officials called a halt to the excavations about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly after a geologist said the mound of rubble at the base of the landslide had moved 6 feet in as many hours. Dozens of the firefighters and rescue workers who have worked at the site since Monday then gathered for a moment of silence for the victims. Among those killed were Mechelle Wallet and her three daughters - Paloma, 2; Raven raven, common name for the largest member of the family Corvidae (crow family), ranging throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The raven, Corvus corax, is a glossy black scavenging bird about 26 in. , 6; and Hannah, 10 - the girls found together on a couch in the family's home, apparently unaware that the hillside was buckling buckling Mode of failure under compression of a structural component that is thin (see shell structure) or much longer than wide (e.g., post, column, leg bone). Leonhard Euler first worked out in 1757 the theory of why such members buckle. above them. Eight people injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. in the disaster remained hospitalized, three of them in critical condition, officials said. Officials still are trying to locate 17 people known to frequent the area, whittled down from an initial list of about 50. Ten homes were buried when the 1.7-million-ton wall of mud came crashing down. Eighteen other residences were condemned and will be fenced off. However, Brooks conceded that deputies will not be able to stop residents if they choose to cut through the fences and return home - something that happened after a landslide destroyed nine houses in 1995, he said. ``The fences are for their protection. We won't have 24-hour guards posted.'' After the 1995 slide, which caused no serious injuries, residents unsuccessfully sued Ventura County and a bluff-top avocado avocado (ä`vəkä`do, ăv`–), tropical American broad-leaved evergreen tree of the genus Persea of the family Lauraceae (laurel family). grower, claiming that irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. undermined the towering cliff. But a 2001 study by geographers at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). ,Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , concluded that landslides have been documented in La Conchita for more than a century - at least 80 years before the 415-acre ranch operation began. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] toured the area Wednesday and said residents would be able to return to their homes. In a meeting Thursday with Daily News editors and reporters, he said some parts of the town face no danger from mudslides and are safe for homes. The governor said he based his opinion partly on his own observation. ``I'm not an expert on where it is safe to live there, but I drove up and down the area and I think there are areas that would be safe,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``Not near the cliffs, but in other areas around there.'' Asked whether he has reservations about spending taxpayer money to help rebuild a community that faces the threat of recurring re·cur intr.v. re·curred, re·cur·ring, re·curs 1. To happen, come up, or show up again or repeatedly. 2. To return to one's attention or memory. 3. To return in thought or discourse. landslides, Schwarzenegger said it would be premature to discuss what should be done about areas close to the slide. Brooks said Thursday that anyone who chooses to return to any of the town's 150 homes would do so at their own peril The designated contingency, risk, or hazard against which an insured seeks to protect himself or herself when purchasing a policy of insurance. Among the various types of perils for which insurance coverage is available are fire, theft, illness, and death. PERIL. . ``The entire community is in danger. There's no single area that is exempt from that risk.'' Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report. Andrea Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3669 andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Firefighters and rescue workers come together at noon Thursday for a moment of silence in the neighborhood where 10 people perished in a landslide. (2) Sonja Nordstrom, left, and her rescue dog Drago pay their respects to the 10 people killed in the La Conchita landslide on Monday. (3) Rescue workers bow their heads in prayer during a moment of silence Thursday for those buried in the La Conchita landslide. Pool Photo |
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