SAN DIEGO -- Even before the rubble had been cleared and a massive street rupture repaired, homeowners in the pricey Mount Soledad neighborhood of La Jolla began to return Thursday to their landslide-threatened homes and city officials were vowing to help rebuild.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said he had appealed to the governor and White House for disaster funds. Crews were working around the clock to find ways to shore up the remaining part of the hillside that thundered down Wednesday, destroying nine homes and severely damaging several more.
This time, officials said, the city will use much tougher grading and filling standards than those in effect in 1961 when building was allowed to continue after a similar slide destroyed seven homes under construction.
The city also has hired a forensic geologist to determine what caused the landslide and whether the city was negligent. Some residents said they complained bitterly in the weeks before the slide that water was bubbling up from underground lines, possibly making the soil unstable.
Sanders said the city would move quickly to repair Soledad Mountain Road, a heavily traveled street.
"I want to apologize to our citizens who have been inconvenienced by this," he said. "Our sympathies are with you."
No further sliding was reported as city engineers scrambled to stabilize the hill below the broken road. At the height of the evacuation Wednesday, 75 homes were under mandatory evacuation. But late Thursday afternoon, Sanders said that nine homes were considered uninhabitable and only 17 others remained "yellow-tagged" -- meaning that residents could enter only if escorted by police or firefighters to retrieve valuables. City officials said they hoped more than half of those 17 homes would soon be declared safe.
Most insurance policies do not cover landslides, experts said. But they said that if the slide was caused by leaking city waterlines, that could bolster homeowners in their bid to file claims or lawsuits.
Sanders said that although he did not think that water caused the landslide, the forensic geologist would find out.
"I don't think the city dropped the ball, but we're investigating," he said.
The area has had several landslides in recent decades, including the one in 1961, when the neighborhood was being built. That slide forced the City Council to adopt more stringent rules about grading and filling on hillsides, but building in the Mount Soledad area continued.
