Newport Beach House Red-Tagged After Backyard Landslide

A five-bedroom home in Newport Beach was red-tagged after its backyard and patio tumbled in a landslide toward Upper Newport Bay following a series of rainstorms.

A city inspector forced the occupants to pack their bags after the backyard collapsed at 1930 Galaxy Drive in Dover Shores, the Los Angeles Times reported. No one was injured in the slide.

“A city geologist monitored over the weekend,” Newport Beach spokesman John Pope told the Times. “The soil is still in motion and considered not yet stable, we don’t yet know what could happen to the house.”

The landslide destroyed the entire backyard and stripped away its patio.

The house, built in 1969 on a cliff bordering the city’s Back Bay, was worth an estimated $3.5 million before the collapse, according to Zillow.

Two other bluff properties on either side, at 1924 and 1936 Galaxy Drive, were also damaged. They were given a “yellow tag,” meaning they are safe to enter with caution but may not be occupied.

Council member Erik Weigand (City of Newport Beach)

Newport Beach City Councilman Erik Weigand said a neighbor had told him he’d seen changes in the landscape and had grown increasingly concerned about the homes.

“He was pretty shaken up because he knew he was just there before everything collapsed,” said Weigand. “He told me just a week or so prior his kids were playing down below [the bluff]. I remember playing down there as a kid myself. [A landslide] is not something you think of happening, but with all the rain we’ve had, it makes sense.”

The Back Bay, officially known as the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, falls under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The degree of damage to the bottom of the hill will determine the agency’s involvement.

“At this point, I’m told there will be geotechnical experts at the scene to assess the situation. That will help determine what work happens to retain or rebuild the slope,” Tim Daly, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the newspaper. We’ll be working with the city and Coastal Commission as we move forward.”

The cause of the landslide remains undetermined until geologists investigating sample soils report their findings.

— Dana Bartholomew