2005 — Jan 10, Landslide/Mudslide, La Conchita, Santa Barbara County, CA — 10

— 10  NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005.

— 10  Jibson, Randall W. Landslide Hazards at La Conchita, California. USGS 1-12-2013 mod.

Narrative Information

Jibson/USGS: “The 2005 La Conchita landslide occurred at about 12:30 p.m. on January 10. Little or no newly failed material was involved in the landslide; rather, it consisted of a remobilization of the southeastern portion of the 1995 landslide deposit, involving about 200,000 m³ (250,000 yd³) (James O’Tousa, RJR Engineering, personal commun., 2005). The landslide area was approximately 350 m (1,150 ft) long and 80—100 m (260—330 ft) wide. The landslide entered the La Conchita neighborhood destroying 13 houses and severely damaging 23 others… There were 10 confirmed fatalities.”

NCDC: “A powerful Pacific storm brought heavy rain, snow, flash flooding, high winds and landslides to Central and Southern California. During the 5 day event, rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 10 inches over coastal areas with up to 32 inches in the mountains. With such copious rainfall, flash flooding was a serious problem across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In Santa Barbara county, flash flooding and mudslides closed Gibraltar Road at Mt. Calvary Road, stranding several vehicles, while mudslides inundated 3 homes in Lake Casitas. Across Ventura county, flash flooding and mudslides closed down Creek Road at Hermosa Road. In addition, the Ventura Beach RV Resort was flooded and Highways 1 and 126 were closed due to flooding.

“Across Los Angeles county, flash flooding killed a homeless man in Elysian Park, flooded a mobile home park in Santa Clarita, closed Highway 1 and caused numerous problems in Palmdale. In the mountains, 4 to 12 feet of snowfall was recorded along with southeast winds between 30 and 50 MPH with higher gusts. Across the Central Coast and in the Salinas River Valley, high winds gusting to 65 MPH knocked down numerous trees and power lines.

“In La Conchita, a devastating mudslide killed 10 people, destroyed 15 homes and damaged 12 other homes. Overall, damage estimates for the entire series of storms that started December 27th, 2004 and ended on January 11th, 2005 were easily over $200 million with the most damage incurred by agricultural interests in Ventura county.” (NCDC/NOAA. Event Record Details, Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005.)

Sources

National Climatic Data Center. Event Record Details, Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005. Accessed 2-3-2009: http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~566500

Jibson, Randall W. Landslide Hazards at La Conchita, California. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Open-File Report 2005-1067, 2005, 1-12-2013 modification, 12 pages. Accessed 9-8-2015 at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1067/pdf/OF2005-1067.pdf