Crews demolish San Francisco house sliding down hill
SAN FRANCISCO -- Crews are tearing down a multi-million-dollar San Francisco house that is sliding down a hill, threatening other homes.
The three-story, mid-century house has separated more than a foot from the curb and has sunk more than a foot, says home owner Ronald Martell, who was on site Friday to oversee demolition work.
It's unclear what is causing the home to slide, although El Nino storms that have drenched the San Francisco Bay Area could be partly to blame. Martell said one neighbor has reported basement flooding, and there appears to be too much water on his property for the amount of rain that's fallen.
The city ordered five other homeowners -- one on either side of Martell's house and three at the bottom of the hill behind his house -- to hire engineers to show their homes are safe.
Records show the Martells bought the house for roughly $2 million in October. But the family hadn't moved in yet, pending a possible remodel.
It's been a bad week for Martell, a biotech chief executive who was attending his father's out-of-state funeral Tuesday when he learned the city had red-tagged the house, deeming it unsafe for occupation.
A neighbor initially texted Martell on Saturday to tell him about a crack in the driveway parallel to the curb. The next day the neighbor sent a photo.
On Monday, a contractor spotted a second crack. By Tuesday the city had red-tagged the house and informed Martell that his house was sliding -- a shock since a buyer's inspection indicated nothing was wrong.
Martell and his family rushed back to San Francisco on Wednesday, a birthday he shares with his 13-year-old son, to meet with engineers. On Thursday, the city ordered an emergency demolition.
By then, the house had slipped 14 inches away from the curb and dropped 12 inches. The gaps have continued to grow.
William Strawn, a spokesman for San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection, said the city ordered an immediate teardown because of the "imminent public safety hazard."
Strawn said the cause of the unstable soil conditions is under investigation.
"We'd love to rebuild," Martell said. "The question is what's happening with the larger hillside and is there a water issue that needs to be corrected?"
Neighbor Mark Miller, whose home is unaffected, said seeing unsettled soil is unsettling.
"You don't expect your foundation to slip out from underneath you," he said.
Meantime, a home in the Oakland Hills has been yellow-tagged for restricted use only, CBS affiliate KPIX reported.
Neighbor Kevin Best said he woke up at about 4 o'clock Friday morning and was investigating outside with a flashlight heard a cracking sound.
"Just as I was shining it, I watched all the trees in the hillside just roll down the ravine," Best told KPIX.
A huge chunk of property beside Best's home slid down into the canyon below. Workers have been laying down plastic to try to stabilize the land, but water is still seeping out from underground.
The clay soil has become so slick that on Tuesday a city inspector sank down to his thighs in the muck and had to be rescued by the fire department.
The mudslide exposed part of the home's support pier, and even though engineers say the structure is stable, that does little to calm Best's nerves.
On Friday, Best's neighbors received the news that their foundation is separating and that their house has been yellow-tagged.
Drains are being installed to channel the flowing water and a lot of work will have to be done when things dry out.
Best said he retired to his house because of its spectacular views and said he doesn't want to leave. But just the same, he keeps a bag packed and important items close by in case he has to get out quick.
"I've already seen what Mother Nature can do...and so I'm not putting anything past her," Best said.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, residents of a clifftop apartment complex in Pacifica have been ordered to leave because the building is in danger of falling into the ocean.