Learn more about in-home care options for your loved ones

Given the choice, most of us want to stay in our homes. Sometimes, people need help to remain at home. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.

Personal Care Consultation

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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie is amazing. Very knowledgeable about Senior living, lifestyle, and care. Super responsive and phenomenal follow up. An incredible resource for all things "Senior".”

Richard W.
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TESTIMONIALS

“My dad came home from the hospital, then to hospice care for 4 months, then passed at home. Carrie helped our family during multiple transitions of his care. She is professional and efficient, but also compassionate and empathic. She was a core contact for our family from in- and out-of town, and always responded quickly to calls, emails or txts. Dad's caregiver needs and schedules were ever-changing and Carrie was always able to adjust, helping us to coordinate needs from hospice and family. We are so thankful Dad was able to spend his last months at home. We continue to use Carrie’s services for our mom. The caregivers are trained well and often became friends to my folks. I highly recommend Carrie’s services.”

Vicky P.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best Care was there for us after my wife's surgery. We had a caregiver come each day for two weeks to help bath, feed, walk, and tidy the house during working hours so that my wife was not alone. Our caregiver Naomi was a God sent and so delightful. I often overheard my wife and Naomi singing together. What a joy! Thank you Carrie and ABC Senior Services for making this service available to Beach Cities.”

Cedric T.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie demonstrated a level of professionalism that stood out, and her service and follow through made our experience with Always Best Care Senior Services stress free. We had a unique situation that required a specific type of caregiver and Carrie was able to make a great match! Overall a great experience.”

Lauren D.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I would highly recommend Always Best Care Senior Servicesto help you navigate the care of your loved ones in their senior years of need. We called them when we found out my 92 year old mother in law was due to be released from the hospital but clearly not able to care for herself upon her release. It was a stressful situation but carrie knew exactly the right questions to ask and heard our needs and pointed us in the right direction with all that needed to be done. She set up a call with hospice who arranged for all necessary equipment to be delivered in less than a 24 hour period. She also set up 3 very competent experienced care givers to be at the home in that same 24 hour period. The speed and professionalism in which this all happened could not have handled any better in my opinion. Working with Carrie at Always Best Care Senior Services put our minds at ease and got everything set up for us to care for my mother in law. Carrie was hands on in meeting with us and introducing the care givers and involved with speaking to doctors and hospice and everyone involved with my mother in laws care. She made a highly stressful time much more manageable and guided us every step of the way. She also followed up and made sure all that was supposed to be done was being taken care of. You are in good hands when calling on them for your loved ones care. I am happy to speak to anyone directly if you would like to ask any questions I give my permission for Always Best Care to give my personal phone number out to speak to anyone who is considering using their services.”

Randi E.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie is very caring, worked with us to get the best caregiver match for my parents, was able to schedule someone when we needed a caregiver on short notice and she always made suggestions to us to help make things better and more comfortable for my parents.”

Lissen G.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Excellent service. Professional staff and wonderful caregivers.”

Elizabeth B.
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TESTIMONIALS

“We have had 24/7 care for my mother with ABC for over 2 years. The care and compassion they showed for her really touched my heart. I have had to ask for last minute help when another caregiver (not from ABC) could not show up for a shift, Carrie and staff always came through for me. She has always been available to work out problems and last minute requests, I can't say enough about how important that has been to me when I live out of state.I have really been able to rely on their judgement once they got to know my moms likes and needs, they always tried to match her with a caregiver that she would also feel comfortable with personally.The caregivers were long term, they did not come and go, mom really became attached and appreciated them. The caregivers speak highly about Carrie as their employer, they have mentioned to me they really feel like she cares and looks after them as well. Touches like Loli dropping by for a visit to chat with mom, or remembering her birthday with a bunch of flowers was so great. I would definitely recommend!”

Cindy P.
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TESTIMONIALS

“We are deeply grateful to Carrie and to two of the ABC caregivers in particular, María Flores and Soledad, for their professionalism, dedication and superb service over the course of nearly two years. They provided coverage on evening shifts on weekends and some weekdays —as well as on occasional overnight shifts— for my mother who was in the early-to-moderate stages of Alzheimer’s. (We recently moved her into an assisted living facility.) Because our need for ABC's services was sporadic and variable, Carrie and her staff often had to juggle quite a bit to accommodate us — for which we are grateful. Occasionally we’d be assigned a caregiver who wasn’t the best fit but Carrie was always responsive to our concerns and would work with us to find a different caregiver. We also appreciate the “added value” that Loli brought to the table — her overall expertise on elder care, knowledge about related resources, and guidance on how to make our home safer for my mother. We are pleased to highly recommend Carrie and ABC for your in-home eldercare needs.”

Chris C.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I needed to find an assisted living community for my dad in a hurry, and knew that I didn't have as much time as I'd like to do all of the research on my own. I was very relieved when I found Carrie to help us as a consultant for our search. She was very detail-oriented in acquiring the necessary info from us, and helped us to find a few places with availability that we could visit. I very much appreciated her knowledge of so many various communities, her professionalism, her efficiency, and the wide range of items that she suggested we consider, that we may not have thought of on our own. I would highly recommend her placement services.”

Anna H.
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TESTIMONIALS

“reliable with excellent oversight”

John W.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best Care was an excellent caregiving service for the short time they tended to my ailing mother, a late-stage pancreatic cancer patient. She passed away shortly after we began the caregiving service. In the short time that Always Best Care tended to my mother, the caregiver Maria demonstrated excellent experience. She tended well to my mother and assisted in any other way that she could. Thank you Maria and Always Best Care for your service. I wish you all the kindness and wellness in the world. Colin”

Colin P.
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TESTIMONIALS

“This was a wonderful experience. The care giver did a fantastic job taking care of my mother. I would recommend them to anyone. The care giver was kind, helpful, and provided all the help we needed. Their service was instrumental in my mother being able to get her independence.”

Mary K.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Outstanding service. I would recommend Manhattan Beach Always Best Care to anyone who needs to have care for a family member. I've had personal experience with Carrie’s organization and was very impressed with her and her caretakers.”

Judy H.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie and Best Care was the perfect fit to take care of Mom for the last 2 years. Carrie insured that we had the wonderful and attentive care givers. I never had to worry about Mom. I knew she had the best care and was able to stay in her home because of the care and support provided. I would recommend Carrie and Best Care to all her are looking for care for someone they love. Thanks for everything.”

Nancy J.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I needed to find someone for taking care of my mom without being worried. When I talked to Carrie I got the feeling she understood and she went through A to Z on everything with me. Care and quality care is truly what she delivers.”

Ara A.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I can't say enough good things about Always Best Care! Carrie is so professional. She was able to find a great caregiver for my Grandmother on very short notice. The communication has been outstanding as well. When it comes to family, you want to know that they are being taken care of by someone that you can trust. We are so happy to have found Always Best Care.”

Shannon S.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie did a great job finding just the right place and the best overall fit. Her perseverance made the coupling of client and home happen.”

David S.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I've had only the best experience with Always Best Care. Even on short notice, Carrie was able to provide professional caregivers who were thorough, thoughtful, and kind. Thank you, Carrie. Mike Mayo”

cardplayindude
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best Care and Carrie Bianco go above and beyond the call of duty to really find the perfect fit for your loved one at a price that is affordable. Their customer service and attention to detail is unparalleled.”

Alison J.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I can't say enough good things about Always Best Care! Carrie is so professional. She was able to find a great caregiver for my Grandmother on very short notice. The communication has been outstanding as well. When it comes to family, you want to know that they are being taken care of by someone that you can trust. We are so happy to have found Always Best Care.”

Shannon S.
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TESTIMONIALS

“What a pleasure to meet Carrie and be introduced to her at Always Best Care Senior Services. Rarely have a met someone that offered so much warmth, care, and genuine concern for the well-being and happiness of her clients. Carrie will be my first call when my family members need assistance.”

Lisa H.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie truly cares about her clients and their families. She is compassionate professional”

Ed M.
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TESTIMONIALS

“When it comes to family, you want only the best, most loving, respectful and attentive care. When it comes to having caregivers in your home, you want to know that you have people who are honest and trustworthy. Carrie and her team of professional caregivers answered the call in every way for our family and exceeded our expectations for in-home care. Our requirement for in-home care for my father-in-law arose suddenly. Carrie personally worked with us to evaluate our situation and provide professional and supportive caregivers quickly. The caregivers were all warm, responsive to our unique needs and respectful. They had experience in elder care and helped our family through a difficult period. When, due to illness, we required “around the clock” care, Carrie was able to accommodate the same day with additional overnight care professionals. I will always be grateful to Always Best Care. Leslie Ball”

1bionicleking
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TESTIMONIALS

“Carrie You are the BEST!!!! I cannot began to tell you how much I/we appreciate your follow-though, your since of urgency and your hard work in searching for the best possible placement, price and location, for my Mom. Your constant updates/communications with me really adds to a piece of mind just knowing that someone, like you, is aggressively looking for a solution. What you do and how you do it is invaluable!!! You really cannot put a price on the type of passion and caring you exude. We could not have made it through this process without you! There needs to be more people like you in this word. Thank you so much for what you do!!! It’s been a real pleasure Deborah (Debbie) J. Augborne-Allen”

Adrian M.
 In-Home Care Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

How does In-home Senior Care in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA work?

Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it's especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age. When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.

The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.

At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one ages, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.

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 Senior Care Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

Aging in Place: The Preferred Choice for Most Seniors

While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit.

In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a unfamiliar assisted living community, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.

Here are just a few of the reasons why older men and women prefer to age at home:

Comfort
Comfort

How much does a senior's home truly mean to them? A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old. With the help of elderly care in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.

Healthy Living
Healthy Living

Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors. Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.

Independence
Independence

For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like an assisted living community. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.

Cost and Convenience
Cost and Convenience

More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, can be less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.

With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.

Empowers Seniors

Affordable Care Plans

In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.

Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.

At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.

In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:

Veteran's Benefits
Veteran's Benefits

Attendance and aid benefits through military service can cover a portion of the costs associated with in-home care for veterans and their spouses.

Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance

Many senior care services like in-home care are included in long-term care insurance options. Research different long-term care solutions to find a plan that provides coverage for senior care.

Private Insurance
Private Insurance

Home care can be included as part of a senior's private insurance plan. Read over your loved one's insurance policy carefully or speak with their insurance provider to determine if in-home care is covered.

Life Insurance
Life Insurance

Depending on the life insurance plan, you may be able to apply your policy toward long-term care. You may be able to use long-term-care coverage to help pay for in-home elderly care.


Respite Care Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

During your Care Plan consultation with Always Best Care, your Care Coordinator will speak with you about in-home care costs and what options there may be to help meet your budget needs.

Compassionate Care. Trusted Caregivers

When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.

Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.

At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Palos Verdes Peninsula,CA understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.

Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.

Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.

 Caregivers Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

Taking the First Step with Always Best Care

The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:

An assessment of your senior loved one

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An in-depth discussion of the needs of your senior loved one to remain in their own home

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Reviewing a detailed Care Plan that will meet your senior loved one's needs

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Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.

If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.

When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.

Latest News in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

Things to know about a landslide that has destroyed homes in Southern California

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. (AP) &m...

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. (AP) — A landslide is destroying a cluster of hilltop homes in a gated Southern California community and poses a threat to others. Here are some things to know:

WHAT HAPPENED?

Los Angeles County firefighters responding to a report in the city of Rolling Hills Estates on Saturday discovered cracks in buildings and on the ground. Twelve homes on Peartree Lane were red-tagged as unsafe and residents had just 20 minutes to get out.

Ten of the homes began sliding down into a canyon. Walls and decks ripped apart. Neat tile roofs shattered as they pancaked into a jumble. Although two of the red-tagged homes had not slid down as of Tuesday, county Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said they did move.

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An additional 16 homes were being monitored but residents were allowed to stay.

HOW LONG WILL THE LANDSLIDE CONTINUE?

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, told reporters this week that it’s only a matter of time until the homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula fall to the bottom of the canyon.

Authorities can only wait.

“We don’t know how long that’s going to take,” said Marrone. “We don’t know how long that these homes are going to continue to move, but at this time it’s just a holding pattern that we’re in, waiting to see what the final determination is going to be.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RESIDENTS?

Sixteen residents were displaced. The Red Cross offered hotel vouchers, but they stayed with friends and relatives in the area, according to Mayor Britt Huff.

WHAT CAUSED THE LANDSLIDE?

The cause is not known, but an obvious potential suspect is the exceptionally heavy rain that fell on California this past winter. Water percolating down through soil is known to be able to activate a slide months after the last rainfall.

“For these homes that are already gone into the canyon, there is nothing more that we can do for them,” said Hahn. “But we think after it’s all settled, a good geologist and soil expert maybe will give us a clue about how this happened and if there is any way to prevent it from happening in the future on some other hillside.”

The entire community is private, including the streets, so officials said it will be up to the homeowner’s association to hire a geologist. Hahn said the county did recommend geologists and that the association’s management company is handling that issue.

IS HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE GOING TO COVER THE LOSSES?

Residents were checking whether their homeowners insurance covers landslides, according to Hahn. In the meantime, the county assessor Jeff Prang was brought in to expedite property tax waivers that could result in little or no tax bills.

“Obviously property is valued based on the land and the improvements,” Prang told reporters on Peartree Lane. “These homes behind us, there are no improvements. Those are a total loss. And the land that was beneath them is now going to be a hillside. So when we’re done valuing this property, they will have nominal value.”

AND WHAT ABOUT GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE?

The Rolling Hills Estates City Council was scheduled to vote Tuesday night on a resolution to proclaim a local emergency due to significant land movement “requiring immediate and ongoing action from the City, first responder agencies, and utility companies.”

The staff report on the resolution said the costs of responding to the incident were unknown because it was still evolving but adoption of the resolution would allow the city to request funds from the state Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

More homes evacuated after massive landslide in Rolling Hills Estates

More evacuations were ordered as homes continue collapsing into a canyon in Rolling Hills Estates on Wednesday.City officials unanimously declared a local state of emergency Tuesday night as more residents became displaced.The landslide was first reported ...

More evacuations were ordered as homes continue collapsing into a canyon in Rolling Hills Estates on Wednesday.

City officials unanimously declared a local state of emergency Tuesday night as more residents became displaced.

The landslide was first reported late Saturday night when the landslide forced dozens of evacuations along Peartree Lane on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

In addition to twelve homes that were red-tagged as unsafe, five additional homes were forced to evacuate due to a broken sewer line. By Wednesday, around 17 homes are being monitored amid the shifting ground.

The ground had shifted over 20 feet in a 24-hour period, leaving a trail of destruction behind including a jumble of collapsed roofs, shattered walls, tilted chimneys and decks dangling over an adjacent canyon.

Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang said he has met with property owners affected by the landslide. He said property tax relief is available to the victims through a Misfortune and Calamity Program if they have sustained a minimum of $10,000 in damages.

Although officials said the land sinking underneath the homes has slowed a bit, the area adjacent to the canyon is now undergoing evaluation by city and county officials along with utility companies.

The cause of the massive landslide also remains a mystery as geologists and experts are working to determine the root cause. The city also said it will be working with the homeowner’s association to investigate the issue as well.

“There are only three things that are controlling whether you have a landslide or not and that’s the steepness of the hillside, the underlying rock type that’s underneath that hillside and the water saturation in the rocks or the soil,” said Dr. Nate Onderdonk, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at Cal State Long Beach. “The topography, the steepness doesn’t really change that fast and neither does the rock type, so it’s really got to be something to do with the water.”

A fissure running among the homes raised suspicion that this past winter’s heavy rains may be involved, said Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who represents the area.

Meanwhile, displaced residents are not only heartbroken over the destruction of their homes, but many are stuck dealing with the nightmare of insurance coverage.

Insurance expert, Janet Ruiz from the Insurance Information Institute, told KTLA that typical insurance will likely not cover damages from the landslide.

Standalone earthquake insurance will also probably not cover this kind of situation. The residents’ only hope may rely on a difference in conditions policy.

“The insurance that would cover landslide, earth movement would be a difference in condition policy,” explained Ruiz. “That covers earth movement, earthquake, flooding, so it’s kind of an all-in-one policy but again it’s a specialty policy and it’s not covered under your regular homeowner’s insurance.”

Officials say the process of determining the root cause could take months.

Britt Huff, the Mayor of Rolling Hill Estates, told KTLA the five homes that were evacuated due to a ruptured sewer line could potentially return home once repairs to the line are made as the homes are not sitting on moving ground.

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced on Wednesday the creation of a fund worth $125,000 to help displaced residents.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct a misidentified name.

South Bay history: Shifting soil, landslides part of Peninsula life for decades

The recent landslide that has destroyed 12 homes on Peartree Lane in Rolling Hills Estates is a tragic occurrence — but not an unprecedented one on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and nearby hillside areas.The Peninsula was once an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Its hills were formed by a seismic thrust roughly 2 million years ago. The waters north and east of it...

The recent landslide that has destroyed 12 homes on Peartree Lane in Rolling Hills Estates is a tragic occurrence — but not an unprecedented one on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and nearby hillside areas.

The Peninsula was once an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Its hills were formed by a seismic thrust roughly 2 million years ago. The waters north and east of it eventually receded, connecting the hills to the California mainland.

The Palos Verdes Fault traverses the area. In 2022, seismic experts estimated it capable of causing a quake as high as 7.8 in magnitude.

The unstable nature of the Peninsula’s geology has resulted in often-devastating landslides, some of which have been caused by earth movements that have been progressing for thousands of years.

Geologists estimate that the Portuguese Bend landslide area, for example, may be at least 5,000 years old. Road crews working on the extension of Crenshaw Boulevard southward noticed cracks in a road culvert above the upscale new Portuguese Bend Club housing development in August 1956.

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Dirt from a hill covers a 60 foot section of Poppy Trail on March 7, 2005, after a section of the hill gave way and slid blocking access for residents of seven homes that were cut off. (File photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

The land was rapidly moving south — and the results were disastrous. Roughly 200,000 cubic yards of dirt gave way, eventually destroying 130 homes and portions of Palos Verdes Drive South and Yacht Harbor Drive, the roadway inside the development’s gates.

The one-time seaside paradise, which opened with a star-studded gala just eight years earlier, would never be the same.

Residents won a $9.5 million judgment that claimed the Crenshaw roadwork exacerbated the slide. As a result, the southern extension of Crenshaw was never built; it ends just past Crest Road. To this day, Rancho Palos Verdes spends a good portion of its annual budget repairing the ever-shifting surface of Palos Verdes Drive South in the area as a result of continual land movement.

One of the earliest land movements to affect residents occurred at Point Fermin in San Pedro, just down the road from Portuguese Bend.

Landowner and developer George Peck had begun building cliff-top homes on the site in the mid-1920s. About a dozen homes had been built by Jan. 2, 1929, when engineers detected a movement of eight inches in cracks on the property south of Shepard Street, just east of the Point Fermin Lighthouse.

Several houses ultimately were lost, with at least two believed to have fallen into the sea.

A 1941 earthquake ended the possibility of erecting more houses in the area, and the rest of the planned development was never built. The abandoned area was cordoned off and became the local landmark — unofficially known as Sunken City.

A major disaster occurred on Paseo del Mar a couple of miles west of Sunken City on Nov. 20, 2011, when the White Point Landslide took down a huge chunk of the ocean bluffs and completely destroyed 400 feet of the roadway. Fortunately, no one was injured and no structures were damaged. Almost a dozen years later, however, the affected stretch of road has yet to be repaired.

No one was injured during another landslide just up the coast at the under-construction Ocean Trails golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes on June 2, 1999. The slide, which completely destroyed the 18th hole, occurred just two weeks before the new course was slated to open. More than 80,000 pounds of earth slid toward the Pacific Ocean.

All work had to be halted while the cause of the 16-acre slide was determined. Results were inconclusive, with engineers mostly pointing toward general instability in the area, which lies about half a mile east of the Portuguese Bend slide area. Former President Donald Trump bought the course in 2009, renaming it “Trump National Golf Course, Los Angeles.”

Smaller landslides on the Peninsula have had devastating results on houses in the area.

A 1983 landslide in the Bluff Cove area of Palos Verdes Estates, for example, destroyed three houses and damaged several others. PVE resolved the resulting lawsuits by buying the seven damaged houses from their owners.

For several years, the city subsidized city employees, allowing them to live in the cracking structures to prevent vandals and squatters from occupying them. The seven houses finally were demolished in 2015 and the land was converted to green space.

In 2005, a chunk of hillside in Rolling Hills fell 100 feet onto Poppy Trail, a curving street below. It blocked the road, leaving residents of eight multimillion-dollar homes stranded. It took years of lawsuits to straighten the situation out; in the meantime, the homeowners had to use four-wheel drive vehicles to navigate the slide.

When the hillside began moving on Singingwood Drive and Carolwood Lane in southern Torrance in March 2001, nearly two dozen homes were threatened. Several were evacuated and the city declared a state of emergency. Heavy rains sent walls of mud into homeowners’ backyards and it took months to shore up the hillside and allay the threat.

More recently, a 200-foot section of a Palos Verdes Peninsula hillside came crashing down onto RAT Beach — an acronym for “right after Torrance” — on Dec. 9. The slide came down from an area near Rosita Place in Palos Verdes Estates, near the city’s border with Torrance. Homeowners were evacuated temporarily. The beach area was also closed temporarily.

No one was injured, but an unoccupied Los Angeles County Beaches & Harbors truck parked below the cliff was battered by the onslaught — testimony to the dangers posed by geologic forces at work in unstable coastal hills.

Sources: Daily Breeze archives. “Landslide Inventory Map of the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” by Wayne D. Haydon, California Geological Survey, 2007. Los Angeles Times archives. Palos Verdes Peninsula News archives.

$125K Fund Created To Help Rolling Hills Landslide Victims

Seventeen homes remained under evacuation orders, and 12 homes along Peartree Lane were red-tagged.ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CA — A total of 17 homes remained under evacuation orders Wednesday in Rolling Hills Estates in response to a landslide that has caused at least 10 of those structures to collapse and prompted the City Council declare a local emergency in the Palos Verdes Peninsula neighborhood.The cause of the landslide responsible for the destruction remained a mystery.Over the weekend, 12 homes along Peartr...

Seventeen homes remained under evacuation orders, and 12 homes along Peartree Lane were red-tagged.

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CA — A total of 17 homes remained under evacuation orders Wednesday in Rolling Hills Estates in response to a landslide that has caused at least 10 of those structures to collapse and prompted the City Council declare a local emergency in the Palos Verdes Peninsula neighborhood.

The cause of the landslide responsible for the destruction remained a mystery.

Over the weekend, 12 homes along Peartree Lane were red-tagged -- deemed unsuitable for habitation -- due to the landslide that heavily damaged at least 10 of those buildings.

The Rolling Hills Estates City Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring a local emergency in response to the slide on Tuesday night.

"The estimated costs in responding to the Peartree Lane Land Movement Incident are unknown at this time due to the evolving nature of the situation," according to a staff report prepared for the council. "Adoption of this resolution will facilitate the ability for the city to request resources including financial support and reimbursement from the State Office of Emergency Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs incurred for the response of this emergency."

On Wednesday, a $125,000 fund -- created with a $100,000 contribution from county Supervisor Janice Hahn's office and $25,000 from the city of Rolling Hills Estates -- was announced to assist affected residents with costs such as temporary housing, food or other essentials.

Hahn and Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Britt Huff met with affected residents Monday evening, along with officials including county Assessor Jeff Prang, who said his office would work with residents to ensure they would not be forced to pay hefty property tax bills for homes and properties that have been largely destroyed.

Prang said his office will be expediting the process of re-assessing the affected properties to prevent any of the owners from receiving hefty tax bills for destroyed homes.

"In a tragedy like this, people have experienced all types of hardships that you don't really think about," Prang said. "One of them is paying taxes on houses or a piece of land that no longer exist. We just need to make sure that we do everything we can do to relieve them of any burdens, especially this financial burden, as quickly as possible. So I'm here to work with the city and county and everyone else to make sure we provide that relief to these residents."

Prang said the county would not provide a blanket waiver of property taxes, but he said the re-assessing of the properties would result in them having either no or dramatically reduced tax bills due to the damage.

In a statement Wednesday, Prang's office indicated that residents can file for additional relief under the Misfortune & Calamity program.

"By filing a claim for M&C relief within one year of the incident, properties that have sustained a minimum of $10,000 in damages may be eligible for a refund of taxes already paid as well as lower annual tax bills until the property is repaired or rebuilt," according to the Assessor's Office. "Assessor Prang's office is working proactively to identify the properties affected and move the process forward."

"We think after it's all settled, a good geologist and soil expert maybe will give us a clue about how this happened and if there's any way of preventing it from happening on some other hillside," Hahn said.

Electricity in the area was turned off Saturday and utility crews made sure no gas or power lines were disrupted, authorities said.

The American Red Cross was helping to find shelter for the evacuated families. Huff said the Red Cross offered hotel vouchers to displaced residents, but most had already made other arrangements.

There have been no reports of any injuries.

Hahn said she reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday but had not yet spoken to him about the situation. She said she would like to invite him to tour the neighborhood.

12 homes evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates after ground shifts

Twelve homes were evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates on Saturday night after the ground shifted, leaving major cracks and some structures “visibly leaning,” officials said.Firefighters and investigators were sent about 4 p.m. Saturday to Peartree Lane, where hilltop homes overlook a canyon, officials said. The community is on the southwestern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.Cracks in the homes were visible on the inside and outside, said Los Angeles County Fire Captain Chiyoshi Hasegawa. About 16 people were evac...

Twelve homes were evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates on Saturday night after the ground shifted, leaving major cracks and some structures “visibly leaning,” officials said.

Firefighters and investigators were sent about 4 p.m. Saturday to Peartree Lane, where hilltop homes overlook a canyon, officials said. The community is on the southwestern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Cracks in the homes were visible on the inside and outside, said Los Angeles County Fire Captain Chiyoshi Hasegawa. About 16 people were evacuated, he said, and utilities were shut off to reduce the risk of fire.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the city, said she was notified Saturday night about the land movement and the evacuation.

Residents of the affected homes “were told they had 20 minutes to get their belongings and get out,” Hahn said at a noon press conference Sunday at the site, where she was joined by Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Britt Huff and officials from the county fire and public works departments.

She said a fissure, or crack in the earth’s surface, was winding its way between the affected homes.

“We believe many of these homes will fall into the canyon sooner than later,” Hahn said.

City and county officials said Sunday that it is too early to speculate on what caused the ground to shift and that the matter is under investigation. They said they are monitoring other homes in the neighborhood for movement.

“This neighborhood was built in 1978 and it’s been solid for 45 years,” Huff said. “So we’re very much in shock by what is happening here.”

Pete Goodrich, a building official with the city, said geologists will inspect the site and decide what can be done. He said there was substantial damage to the homes.

The land movement “could be due to the extensive rains that we’ve had .... but we don’t know,” Goodrich said of recent winter storms.

Hahn said she could understand the fears of the affected homeowners.

“I haven’t seen anything like this in my career,” she said. “To think that these homes were intact yesterday afternoon and today to hear them creaking.... These homes are going to fall.”

David Zee, a former Torrance resident who said he moved into one of the 12 houses two months ago, told Hahn and the other officials that his family was devastated by what was happening.

“We thought this would be our forever house,” he said. “Maybe it still will be, but I’m just concerned. I’m usually not emotional but, you know, it’s our house.”

Mimi Borg has owned a home for six years across the street from one of the evacuated homes. She said her house has not been damaged, but her gas has been shut off indefinitely amid concerns that the problem could spread.

On Sunday morning, she surveyed the house across the street with a Spanish-style roof that had sustained significant damage.

“Last night I was out for a walk, and there was just a crack on the driveway and the wall, and now it’s 100 times worse,” she said. “We’re just hoping it doesn’t spread to us. I am worried. I have all of my stuff packed, all ready to go if they tell me to go.”

Ferry Mafinezam of Canada was visiting her sister a short walk up the hill from the evacuated homes. She said she felt an earthquake in the area last week and that her sister is “concerned” her home could be damaged.

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“About a week ago I woke up to an earthquake just shaking the house,” Mafinezam said. “Now this morning I walked up and saw this.”

Geologists are expected to survey the land to determine what will happen to the homes.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula has long been prone to landslides, and the most dramatic one is affecting Portuguese Bend, an area on the south side named after a whaling operation, now known for its natural beauty and native vegetation.

A dormant landslide complex has shaped the area for hundreds of thousands of years. It was reactivated 67 years ago and is threatening to destroy homes and infrastructure.

The geological phenomenon has hit a 240-acre area particularly hard over the last seven decades, causing fissures to open in the earth and homes to strain, buckle and drift, sometimes onto adjacent properties.

City officials are planning to mitigate the landslide before it’s too late.

“Something catastrophic is imminent,” Ara Mihranian, a city planner, told The Times in March. Since being named city manager in 2019, he has made slowing the landslide a primary focus.

The Portuguese Bend landslide was triggered in summer 1956 — nearly two decades before Rancho Palos Verdes became a city — when a Los Angeles County road crew was constructing an extension of Crenshaw Boulevard that would run from Crest Road to Palos Verdes Drive South.

The crew dug up thousands of tons of dirt for the project and dropped it on top of the ancient landslide zone, which hadn’t moved in 4,800 years. The extension was never completed, but the weight and movement of the dirt shifted the balance of the earth enough to reactivate the slide, sending the land into a slow-motion descent toward the sea.

In recent years, the landslide’s harm has been more incremental than the initial destruction in 1956 that tore up a community clubhouse and 130 area homes. City officials said the land moves sometimes horizontally, sometimes vertically. Sometimes inches, sometimes feet.

Officials said it moves at a pace of roughly eight feet, in a southwesterly direction, per year. Over the last 15 years, sections of land have moved anywhere from 100 to 225 feet horizontally and dropped eight to 18 feet vertically.

The most noticeable damage is dealt to Palos Verdes Drive South — the road that winds along the coastal cliffs — warping it into a crooked, hilly mess with dips that make your stomach jump. The city has to send a crew once a month to fill cracks, maintenance that costs roughly $1 million per year.

Times staff writer Jack Flemming contributed to this story.

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