About 10 homes were evacuated due to a landslide in the Berkeley hills on Monday morning and residents of nearby neighborhoods were warned to prepare to leave quickly if needed, fire officials said.
The Spiral, a short road off Wildcat Canyon Road, and Middlefield Road north of the Crossways, are both closed, Berkeley police said in an advisory.
Wildcat Canyon Road between Sunset and Park Hills roads is also closed due to a mudslide. Authorities responded to the area shortly after 7 a.m.
The ground was still moving and trees were heard cracking from the slide, Berkeley Fire Battalion Chief Bill Kehoe said about 9 a.m.
Additional evacuations were not expected, police said later Monday, but residents were still advised to avoid the area if possible.
“Basically we’ve been slowly watching this river of dirt and debris,” said Marjorie Cruz. “Slide down the hill and make its progress across our yard.”
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It’s a situation the longtime Berkeley resident never thought she’d be faced with when she and her husband woke up to a nightmare outside their side door.
“He woke up and he was making his coffee and noticed it was extra dark and he looked out at the door on the side of the house, and there’s about 4 feet of mud at the door, and that’s when he realized we had a major problem,” said Cruz.
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A few hours later, the mud had made its way inside the house and as the dirt moved, they evacuated seven other houses located downhill.
“Mud can be more damaging. It seems like it’s slow moving at first, but can cause really big damage so we don’t wanna take any risks at least with ourselves,” said Erin Zatlin, evacuated resident. “We’ll see what happens to our house. Hopefully it stays safe and everybody stay safe.”
No injuries were reported. About 20 residents in homes that were evacuated are being assisted by the Red Cross.
Residents in the area should be prepared to evacuate quickly if notified, Berkeley officials said.
At nearby UC Berkeley on Monday, a landslide shut down a campus roadway, according to university police.
Just a few miles away, in the Oakland hills another muddy scene, neighbors say a hillside on Alvarado Road started sliding at about 3 a.m. eventually blanketing the road.
“We’ve lived here for 35 years and seen everything: mountain lines, skunks, possums, deer rats, I’ve got them all, and mud!!” said Oakland Hills resident Gary Plotner.
The driver of a Mini Cooper learned the hard way: his car and mud -- not a good mix.
“If you see a mudslide driveway, don’t try to get around it which I tried and that was a mistake,” said Kathy Eyre.
Back in Berkeley, Cruz and her husband are grateful nobody was hurt. They say It’s time for the weather to settle down.
“I think mother nature can take a break now. I really think she’s done enough. I think we’re good. We’re good on rain. We can just take it easy now. Let us dry out a bit,” she said.
