Some Rancho Palos Verdes homes having gas restored months after landslides

More Rancho Palos Verdes homes to lose gas service

SoCal Gas is going to shut off gas service to 50 more homes in Rancho Palos Verdes due to continuing landslide issues. The shut offs will be indefinite.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. - Months after gas service was suspended at many Rancho Palos Verdes homes, due to continued landslides, officials announced on Thursday that one community will have gas service restored next week. 

What we know:

Southern California Gas will begin restoring natural gas service to homes in the Seaview area of Rancho Palos Verdes starting May 27, the company announced on Thursday. 

On that day, workers will begin going door-to-door on Dauntless, Exultant and Admirable Drives, restoring service to those who want it, as long as their homes are "ready to accept gas service."

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But before that, the company will be upgrading their infrastructure, installing things like automatic shut-off valves, pressure monitors and more. Once they test the system for leaks, they'll start restoring service to homes.

SoCal Gas expects hooking the homes back up with natural gas will take between four and five weeks, putting the tentative completion date between June 24 and July 1.

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Rancho Palos Verdes monitoring land movement

A meeting was held to address the land movement crisis that left residents without power or gas.

The backstory:

Landslides have devastated the Palos Verdes Peninsula, particularly the Portuguese Bend community in Rancho Palos Verdes for several years now. Last year, slides forced interruptions to gas and power services and damaged roads. Several houses were red-tagged.

The city says the land has been moving since 1956, when Los Angeles County extended Crenshaw Boulevard. But heavy rains over the last few years have accelerated landslides.

By the numbers:

A report from NASA earlier this year showed the land moving towards the ocean by as much as four inches per week.

According to an RPV City Council report, "the Portuguese Bend Landslide emergency response is projected to reach approximately $47.3 million beginning in October 2022 through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025."

However, SoCal Gas says that there has been no measurable land movement in Seaview and Portuguese Bend Beach Club since February. Over that same time, officials say the land in Rolling Hills has moved by .1 inches a week or less. The minimal land movement is part of the reason why the company is ready to restart gas service.

What's next:

After the first homes in the Seaview community have their gas restored, SoCal Gas crews will start to look at homes on Palos Verdes Drive South.

The company said it's also working on plans to bring back gas service in the Portuguese Bend Beach Club neighborhood and the city of Rolling Hills. While officials didn't provide a timeline for that, they said that service will be restored if "the localized land movement conditions allow for safe resumption of service at that time."

Community members can learn more about the process on the SoCalGas website here.