Landslide: Mt. Soledad area in La Jolla, California

A major hillside collapse in La Jolla, Calif., caused massive damage to the overlying four-lane road and forced evacuations in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, October 3, 2007

A four-lane road buckled Wednesday and sank slowly in a hilly upscale neighborhood, one home was destroyed and at least eight others were in danger as the collapse buckled and folded a 50-yard span of asphalt, leaving deep trenches in the road. Rescue crews were evacuating residents and power and gas lines had been shut off in the area.

The sinkhole in the La Jolla neighborhood of million-dollar homes cut in a cone shape and was about 50 yards long. Homes in the area are worth to $2 million plus.

“This area has had some slide problems dating back a number of years,” said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. “The problems are not new to this area.”

5700 Soledad Mountain Road, La Jolla, California on Google Map.

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A firm hired by the city last month was in the area Monday after a large section of slope on Mount Soledad began to slip. City officials said Monday they were moving quickly to prevent catastrophic loss. They sent letters two weeks ago to alert residents and began knocking on doors Monday. Street cracking began on Soledad Mountain Road in July and escalated in August, along with breaks in water and gas lines.

At least three significant hill slides have occurred in the general vicinity between 1961 and 1994, including a major failure in 1961 that destroyed seven homes under construction.

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