Ventura County community placed under permanent, year-round evacuation warning over landslide risk
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - The community of La Conchita is now under a year-round evacuation warning, as announced by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services during a virtual town hall on January 21.
This permanent advisory status reflects the ongoing, unpredictable threat posed by the unstable Rincon Mountain bluffs following a historically wet start to the rainy season.
What we know:
Ventura County officials have shifted to a permanent "warning" status to ensure residents understand that the risk in La Conchita is not just seasonal.
The community sits at the base of a complex ancient landslide mass that remains active.
Several home in the seaside community of La Conchita north of Ventura were destroyed or damaged and several lives were lost when the hillside above slide down on top of them. Ventura County was hit hard by several storms and sustained major damage as
During the town hall, experts from the Public Works Agency and the Sheriff's Office explained that historical rainfall triggers—such as 15 inches in 30 days—are nearing critical levels.
Even when rain stops, the deep-seated nature of the slide means water can take weeks or months to trigger movement in the subsurface, officials said.
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The backstory:
La Conchita has a history of geological instability that has shaped the community's relationship with the land for decades:
1995 Landslide: Following an extraordinarily wet winter, the hill moved tens of meters in minutes, destroying nine homes but causing no fatalities.
2005 Landslide: A second, faster-moving flow buried 36 houses and killed 10 people. For years, the area has been legally designated a Geological Hazard Area, but the update to a "year-round warning" is the most aggressive communication step taken by the Sheriff’s Office since the 2005 disaster.
By the numbers:
Public safety officials use "historical event triggers" to measure the current risk level compared to the 1995 and 2005 failures:
- 15 inches: The amount of rainfall in 30 days that typically triggers high-risk landslide conditions.
- 8 inches: The amount of rain in a two-week period that preceded the catastrophic 2005 slide.
- 1 inch: The hourly rainfall rate that carries the potential to trigger immediate flooding or debris flows.
- 10: The number of lives lost during the 2005 landslide.
Timeline:
- Late December 2025: Heavy rainfall triggers initial evacuation advisories as saturation levels spike.
- January 7, 2026: Officials note that while immediate rainfall has slowed, the hillside remains "highly vulnerable" and saturated.
- January 21, 2026: Ventura County OES holds a virtual town hall to formally transition to the year-round evacuation warning.
What you can do:
Authorities emphasize that residents are responsible for their own safety and should not wait for a mandatory evacuation order to leave if they feel the situation is deteriorating.
Here are some tips:
Register for VC Alert: Sign up for immediate emergency notifications at the county's emergency portal.
Monitor the Hillside: Watch for new ground cracks, bulging at the base of the slope, or the sound of snapping trees.
Prepare a "Go Bag": Keep essential documents, medications, and supplies ready for an immediate departure.
The Source: This report is based on information from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the VC Emergency information portal. Details regarding the 1995 and 2005 landslides are corroborated by historical records from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).