ONE YEAR LATER, EFFECTS OF LANDSLIDE STILL ENDURE.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A year ago, members of the Cedillo family took one final disbelieving look at their home on Fairgate Avenue in Newhall before it was demolished.

It had fallen victim to an unstable hillside and a wall of mud unleashed by storms. Joe and Juanita Cedillos' home of 30 years and their $500,000-plus nest egg were gone.

Today, small mounds of concrete rubble, a few rusted strands of rebar and remnants of a brick wall are all that remain on the vacant lot.

Unable to find affordable housing in Santa Clarita, the extended clan has relocated to a house in Pacoima. Despite the hardship, Joe Cedillo remains upbeat. ``The great thing, the big thing, is we all got out safe,'' he said. ``Especially when you look at Louisiana, they had all that disaster and people had nowhere to go. And La Conchita, there was no warning, it came down in one fell swoop.''

The Cedillos lost their house a year ago Monday, in one of many storms that dumped an annual total of more than 50 inches on Santa Clarita.

When the couple bought the house in 1976 for $44,500 it had a 50-foot backyard. The hillside slowly cannibalized the yard, until last year, when its appetite extended to the house. Attempts to hold back the invasion with a retaining wall and culverts worked for a time.

Joe, Juanita, daughters Maxine, 28, twins Raquel and Roxanne, 30, and four grandchildren had shared the five-bedroom house on Fairgate Avenue. The youngest granddaughter, who celebrates her first birthday today, was born just a day before the family house was declared unsafe to occupy.

Weeks later, on Feb. 21 under rainy skies, some family members - surrounded by dozens of curious onlookers - stood in the street for hours as the imperiled home made ominous popping sounds before buckling. Windows burst out, the roof fractured and the second floor obliterated the first.

After city officials huddled for two ad hoc meetings in the street, the Cedillo's home and a nearby one owned by Alberta Repcik - deemed to be an immediate threat to safety and irreparable - were ordered torn down at no cost to the homeowners.

A faded blue boat, rusted and filled with trash, is now docked on Repcik's lot.

The homes, part of the 1960s Princess tract located between Sierra Highway and the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway, were in the midst of four that were yellow- or red-tagged after last January's deluge.

At first, Cedillo and his son Joe Luis moved two blocks down to live with Joe's parents, Marcos and Manuela Cedillo. Juanita temporarily relocated to a relative's home in Castaic with the couple's daughters and grandchildren. In mid-March the family reunited in the three-bedroom home in the San Fernando Valley.

Joe Luis, 32, still recovering from cancer treatment, remained at his grandparents' home.

``I had been watching him until he got his strength back up,'' Cedillo said. ``He was starting to get better around that time. He had gone through chemotherapy and an operation. Then the slide occurred.'' His son had lost nearly 100 pounds. Joe Cedillo has been disabled for the last 12 years, since his kidneys failed. Disability payments cannot stretch far enough to rebuild the home.

``The Small Business Administration is saying it takes about $600,000 to put back what we had,'' he said. ``My wife has been baby-sitting. We get by on what we make.'' His daughters work, but the family's combined income falls short of what is needed to replace what was lost.

Cedillo still owns the land, which his mortgage company values at $200,000, he said. A deal with one buyer for $100,000 fell through. Joe's brother Ruben Cedillo, a real estate agent in Pasadena, has been marketing the property since September. He gets 10 to 15 calls a week.

``But when they see it they lose complete interest,'' Ruben Cedillo said. ``They see the scope of the work that's involved. It's too big. Realistically, I don't see anybody purchasing it.''

He said because the hillside behind four adjoining lots is unstable, a potential buyer or builder might consider buying all four lots and removing millions of tons of loose dirt before stabilizing the slope, but the profit margin would be questionable. And there's more.

``Once you excavate the hill, there (could be) liability for the homes that sit on top of the hill,'' he said. ``What happens if there is an earthquake?''

Dennis Mak, a senior engineer for the city, said slope failure would need to be dealt with before anyone could develop Cedillo's property. Solutions could involve removing the slide and rebuilding the slope to building a retaining wall. The state's insurance companies do not offer landslide coverage.

Mak said the city would be involved with the review process, the issuance of a grading permit and subsequent building permits if construction is allowed. A massive black tarp anchored by sandbags drapes the lumpy hill behind the red-tagged house to the left of Cedillo's property.

Neighbors, many of whom express concern for the Cedillos, are nonplussed with the gaping eyesore left by the demolition. They understand the obstacles facing potential buyers and look to the city for help.

``I hope they do something nice with the lot; I hope it doesn't stay like this,'' said Becky Cianessi, whose lives across the street. ``I hope they build a park. It's hard to look out at this every morning.''

Cianessi said she picks up trash left behind by kids who play in the empty lot.

``Is it going to stay like that forever?'' asked Cianessi's neighbor Edward Adams. ``Watching the last rain, all it's going to take is a couple big rains and that whole mountain might come forward. That site definitely concerns us.'' He said the city should help restore the property.

``I wish they could make it into a park,'' said Dennis Cole, whose immaculately manicured yard and attractive home abuts Repcik's lot.

While the city is not responsible for fixing damage on private property, officials decided to help Gulf Coast hurricane victims in late September. The Santa Clarita City Council approved a donation of $66,000 to Habitat for Humanity, the national organization that builds homes for those in need.

Gail Ortiz, the city's spokeswoman, said at the time, the organization was the top choice after city officials reviewed charities soliciting funds for those left homeless by the two hurricanes.

``It seemed like really putting communities on the road to recovery, getting people back in their homes was what we wanted to do,'' she said.

The city of Laguna Beach won't assist landslide victims there to rebuild, but has stepped forward to help 15 families whose homes were destroyed in the Bluebird Canyon landslide on June 1 collect donations. Profiles of the families are posted on the city's Web site, and the Adopt-A-Landslide-Family campaign was launched to generate private donations to help the families through the transition period and provide help with rebuilding.

Anne Johnson, chairwoman of Laguna's city planning commission, said about $250,000 in cash and in-kind services have been donated so far. Architects and structural engineers have volunteered their services and people have donated guest houses and trailers.

Like Santa Clarita, Laguna Beach defrayed some of the families' demolition costs, but it does not perform repairs on private property, Johnson said.

Donations to the relief campaign, made payable to the city of Laguna Beach, are tax deductible. Johnson said a concerted effort was made to keep the newly homeless residents in town.

``All of the families were taken in by friends and neighbors in the community. Dogs, cats and people,'' she said.

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) On year after a landslide that destroyed two homes on Fairgate Street in Canyon Country, another remains threatened.

(2) A piece of tile marks where a home stood a year ago, before a landslide on Fairgate Street in Newhall demolished it.

David Crane/Staff Photographer