GSI – Geohazard Mitigation Expert company works to prevent mud slides and falling rocks.
Residents in one area of the Pacific Palisades Highlands are not waiting for the County and City to “save” them from possible mudslides. Of the 87 properties in this Highlands enclave, Palisades County Estates, 11 burned during the Palisades Fire.
Now it is the hillside above the homes that have residents concerned: they are denuded and void of vegetation. They worry about large debris flows and mudslides, especially with the predicted rain.
A resident reached out to the GSI – Geohazard Mitigation Expert company.
“Homeowners spent an hour and half on the phone with Kyle Thompson and two engineers on Monday – and they are already onsite with equipment, crews and materials,” the resident said. “They should have things sorted out ahead of the rain. “
The resident told me this company works fast and had already finished the area around the Getty Villa.
CTN spoke to Thompson on February 3. He said the company’s founders originally worked with the Colorado Department of Transportation and didn’t feel that the most innovative solutions for slopes, including stability and rock fall mitigation were being used. This company was founded in 2002.
GSI was set-up to be a design-build firm that would be a one-stop place to complete site assessments, identify a solution, work out a detailed design and install it.
The spider excavator can be used to stabilize difficult slopes.
These materials were delivered to the Highlands today to be used for slope stabilization before the predicted rains.
Many may remember the December 2017 Thomas Fire in Montecito, which burned 1,063 structures, and was not completely extinguished until January 2018.
Heavy rains followed and massive flows of mud and debris traveling at 20 miles per hour damaged an additional 400 homes and the final death toll from the muds was 23 confirmed deaths with 150 people hospitalized.
The mudslides also barricaded U.S. Highway 101 for ten days, restricting access for business owners, employees, residents, and customers traveling in or out of the area.
If you don’t hire a firm, you can rely on the county to keep your property safe, L.A. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath released the following statement on February 2.
“Los Angeles County has been working around the clock to prepare for this storm, clearing debris basins, reinforcing infrastructure, and making sure our residents have the resources they need to stay safe. I want to thank all of our emergency response teams for their tireless work to protect our communities. I urge all residents to take this time to prepare—secure your property, use sandbags where needed, and stay informed as the storm approaches.”
County measures Horvath recommended included clearing drainage paths around properties, install sandbags and sign up for emergency alerts.click here.
If one clicks on the sandbag locations, one is told “Please be aware due to demand, sand & bags maybe temporarily out of stock.”
The emergency alerts do not work in L.A. County, which is why so many people did not receive the evacuation notices for the fire.
To learn more about GSI click here.