Los Angeles home survived the fire, only to be split in two by a landslide

Stephen Edwards, a 63-year-old music composer, lost his Pacific Palisades home in the fire that has been burning through the neighborhood for the last week and a half.

Edwards thought he had a backup: A second house that he owns in the same area and ordinarily uses as a rental property.

That house had survived the blaze, which so far has burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

But around a week ago, Edwards’ rental house split in two because of a landslide that caused his neighbor’s house to slam into it.

“It was a cool place to make music, to be super chill and relaxing,” Edwards said of the second home. “You could look at the water and listen to the waves. It was amazing.”

He doesn’t know whether his insurance or his neighbor’s will cover the damage from the incident.

The landslide that affected Edwards’ house is unlikely to be the only one resulting from the extreme fires in the Greater Los Angeles area, since wildfires are known to lead to ground instability.

“The next monster is debris flow and landslides,” said Farshid Vahedifard, chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Tufts University.

Vegetation, particularly plant roots, help anchor soil in place, Vahedifard said, so after that burns away, loose soil is able to move more. On top of that, as ash accumulates on the ground, it can block water from getting into the soil, which subsequently causes high volumes of runoff. Over time, the water flow creates a path that can make it easier for dirt, debris and even entire structures to slide downhill.

Vahedifard said many parts of Southern California have deep slopes comprised of loose sediment, which puts them at risk.

“These conditions make the area prone to landslides and debris flows, particularly when you have external triggers like wildfires,” he said.

Although it’s common for landslides to follow wildfires, the process usually takes several years. A situation like Edwards’, which arose as the Palisades Fire was still raging, is relatively rare.

“You typically need some sort of water trigger,” Vahedifard said.

Southern California has received less than one-tenth of an inch of rain since early May, but in this case, Vahedifard suggested, “the firefighters’ fleet was the trigger.”

Adam VanGerpen, a Los Angeles Fire Department captain, said future landslides in the burn scars from the recent fires are going to be a major concern once the rainy season kicks into gear.

“The houses that are in the burn scar after a fire event are the most prone, most susceptible to there being a mudslide or debris flow around them,” VanGerpen said.

California typically gets around 90% of its annual precipitation from October to April. However, Southern California has remained exceptionally dry so far during what should be the wet season, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor — the driest start in 44 years.

Once rain does come, VanGerpen said, “We’re going to have to be vigilant. We’re going to have to tell homeowners to remain alert. And we’re going to have to have the geologists come out and do soil samples and studies and make sure that it’s stable.”

The department doesn’t expect to see many more landslides in the immediate future, he added.

“This looks like there is a lot of water that’s running down through this particular spot,” he said, referring to the location of Edwards’ house.

Vahedifard recommended that the LAFD’s strategy include surveying the land to find the areas most susceptible to landslides, using vegetation and slope maps as a starting point.

He also emphasized that any rebuilding plans should take the risk of both future wildfires and landslides into account.

“If we are building in wildfire-prone areas, if we are building on steep slopes or nearest to the slopes, we have to make sure that our foundation is strong enough to carry that load,” he said. “We have to make sure we are applying some stabilizing measures to keep this load stable against landslides.”

Despite his circumstances, Edwards remained upbeat on Thursday. He is currently staying at an Airbnb in Venice.

“I mean, we’re lucky to be out, you know?” he said. “We’re lucky to be safe, and my wife’s safe, my daughter’s safe, and my dogs are safe. That’s the biggest thing.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com