A declaration of a local state of emergency in Manzanita will continue through early February because of a slope on city-owned property that was destabilized by erosion and wet conditions in mid-December.
The Manzanita City Council has opted to continue the declaration through Feb.4 out of an abundance of caution. Mitigation work has been done to the site on Oak Street near the city’s public works building, but city staff said they need time to fully assess the situation once that work is complete and as winter weather continues.
When the emergency was declared in mid-December, city staff said four homes below were in danger of being impacted if a landslide occurred.
According to Manzanita City Manager Leila Aman, a geotechnical evaluation shows the movements do not appear to extend deeper into underlying geologic materials.
Following a site investigation and conversations with a geotechnical consultant, Aman said the recommended course of action is to remove the settled material at the top of the slide area. This work began last week.
The city has installed control points and will continue monitoring the area and is developing further plans to stabilize the soil.
The original local emergency declaration was set to remain in effect through at least Jan. 8.