Help for Carson Street Landslide Victims Now Up to Gov. Brown

Hercules residents affected by the Carson Street  may get help if Gov. Jerry Brown approves an emergency proclamation that would make relief funds available. 

Faced with slides in both Hercules and nearby San Pablo, Contra Costa County adopted a resolution proclaiming a state of emergency Wednesday. The county’s proclamation carries more weight than Hercules’ emergency alone, City Clerk Doreen Mathews said.

If Brown approves the county’s proclamation, residents impacted by the Carson Street slide may apply directly for state and county funds. Residents cannot apply through the city, Mathews said.

Eight homes are threatened by the 200-foot-tall hillside on Carson Street, which has had a history of problems for more than a decade. Officials say the hillside, which is owned by a neighborhood homeowners' association, is unstable both below and above ground level. 

Four affected homes were long since evacuated when four more were yellow-tagged this week. The yellow tags, which city Spokeswoman Michelle Harington said are precautionary, indicate that it is unsafe to stay in the houses overnight because of the possibility of a sudden landslide.

The city put up concrete barricades along Carson Street in an effort to redirect a possible slide away from the street and nearby homes. The barricades—a temporary solution at best—cost the city $9,000 to rent, city records show. 

Securing the hillside could require a retaining wall reaching 120 feet underground, Hercules Chief Building Official John McGuire said. The cost of building such a wall was estimated at $4 million in 2006, and since then the slide has only gotten worse, McGuire said.