Photos: Landslide Damaged SoCal Home; wrecking ball ended it

A Newport Beach home badly damaged in a landslide earlier this month was demolished on Thursday.

The slide was reported on the morning of March 3 after days of rain in the area. Photos from the scene showed a huge chunk of earth had broken off the hillside behind the house on Galaxy Drive.

Parts of the back terrace had also fallen down the slope.

No injuries were reported, but the home was marked in red, city officials said.

Crews remove belongings and furniture from the house highlighted in red on Galaxy Drive.

(Allen J. Cockroaches / Los Angeles Times)

The homeowner elected to demolish the home, with the city expediting the issuance of a demolition permit, Newport Beach spokesman John Pope said.

On Thursday, construction equipment broke into the house, tearing down the building’s roof and walls, leaving only debris on the footprint.

With the house demolished, officials say, it should be easier to shore up houses on either side.

(Allen J. Cockroaches / Los Angeles Times)

With the home gone now, efforts to shore up the slope for the homes on either side might be easier, Pope said.

These houses were also damaged in the landslide and marked with a yellow sign, meaning it was safe to enter but not yet occupied.

Crews continue to pump groundwater from the hillside to desaturate the soil after several rainstorms.

The Newport Beach home was red flagged after a March 3 landslide.

(Allen J. Cockroaches / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Directors declared a local state of emergency, in part due to the mound’s collapse.

“I am deeply concerned by the mound collapse in the Dover Shores neighborhood of Newport Beach and other storm events in my district and Orange County,” Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose district includes the community of Dover Shores, said in a statement. “I hope there isn’t any further slipping on the shore, but if those three houses fall there could be a cascading effect on the 50 other houses on the cliff and we need to be prepared for that should that happen.”

The Orange County Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency, in part due to the mound collapsing, which severely damaged the home.

(Allen J. Cockroaches / Los Angeles Times)

The slopes of Newport Beach weren’t the only places to see damaging landslides following the storm series. Four buildings in San Clemente were red flagged after a slide on Wednesday.

No injuries were reported in this incident.