Massive landslide damages homes in the San Fernando Valley

A large and powerful landslide crashed through a neighborhood in Sherman Oaks Wednesday morning leaving two homes severely damaged.

The incident was reported around 3 a.m. in the 3700 block of North Ventura Canyon Avenue near Rand Drive.

Sky5 was over the scene at 7 a.m., which showed where the land gave way under a home above Ventura Canyon.

The slide slammed into two homes below, shoving piles of dirt through the structures and cracking at least one of the swimming pools.

“One of the homes actually had their swimming pool damaged and basically almost exploded,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Weireter said.

Firefighters at the scene were using pumps to drain the pool of the home above the slide to reduce weight on the infrastructure.

One of the homes damaged by the slide was under renovation and had to be red-tagged.

“For the home that was severely damaged [red-tagged], nobody was home at the time,” Weireter said.

Three adults were inside the other damaged home, which was yellow-tagged and evacuated.

“We’re looking to hopefully get those folks back into their homes at some point this morning,” Weireter said.

Those residents, who apparently own both damaged properties, were let back in later in the morning.

The home at the top of the hill was also yellow-tagged but the residents opted not to leave.

Building and safety inspectors were at the scene with Los Angeles Fire Department personnel trying to determine if any other homes in the neighborhood were at risk.

“Obviously, the risk is there … We’re at a static situation where it’s not really moving at this point,” Weireter said, adding that nearby residents should have a plan just in case.

The cause of the slide remains under investigation.