Mission Hills residents fear mudslide behind multimillion-dollar home will hit their house

Residents on California Street in the Mission Hills area are worried after a mudslide was triggered above their homes.

On Feb. 6, a landslide sent mud, rocks and debris behind a house on Titus Street on a path toward houses down the hill on California Street. A deck behind the homes now appears to be cantilevering into the air with not much supporting it from below.

“I was in the front of the house and I didn’t hear anything, but my wife was upstairs overlooking the collapsed area, heard something come down, and she thought it was an earthquake,” Rex Huffman said.

Since the storm, a large tarp has been draped over the hillside to prevent any additional rain from falling on the slide area. A quick check on Zillow shows that the home on Titus Street, which, from the street, appeared unoccupied, sold in February 2023 for $1.97 million.

The scene was eye-opening for the homeowners on California Street below where the mudslide took place.

“When she came down and grabbed me and we went out by the pool and looked out back and saw what was actually taking place — at the point it was a slow slide, but it was still moving, just a massive amount of dirt,” Huffman said.

The property on Titus Street in front of where the mudslide occurred has been examined by city of San Diego staff.

“The home has a yellow placard, and the entry is limited to contractors with an indication that a lower room is unsafe to enter,” City of San Diego staff said in a statement to NBC 7. "Gas and electricity have been turned off at this moment."

"Unsafe foundation under family room," reads the yellow tag affixed to the front door. "No access until slope repairs are completed."

Some parts of Huffman’s house, like the deck area, are off-limits as well, with large rocks having come down the hill with enough force to break portions of his fence.

Huffman is keeping a close eye on the slope behind his house.

“If there’s any more movement or any more sliding, or any moisture causing a collapse, it’s going to hit our house," Huffman said. "There’s nowhere for it to go,” Huffman said.

City staff said the surrounding structures have been evaluated for safety by the city and the slope has been covered to limit future failure.