Search ends in wake of California mudslide
Geologists warn hillside may be moving
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|  VIDEO |
 A search for a missing mom and three children ends in heartbreak.
 The California coast is an inviting -- and potentially deadly -- place to live.
 Rescuers have been working night and day in La Conchita, California.
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LA CONCHITA, California (CNN) -- Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks declared Thursday that the rescue mission has ended at the site of a mudslide that killed 10 people this week in the coastal community of La Conchita.
Brooks said authorities believe they have accounted for everyone involved in the mudslide that plowed through a residential neighborhood Monday in the town of 260 people about 65 miles north of Los Angeles.
The next goal will be to re-establish the community, Brooks said at an afternoon news conference.
Authorities don't want residents to return to the area yet because it is considered geologically hazardous, but Brooks said officials have no legal authority to keep people from their homes.
Earlier in the day, searchers for victims and bodies in the 30-foot pile of mud and debris stopped work after geologists warned that the hillside above the town might be moving.
Geologists painted a stripe on the hill Thursday where the mudslide had ended, officials at the scene said. A few hours later, they discovered that the line had moved almost six feet.
Authorities ordered rescue workers to stop digging and move themselves and their equipment from the site until more analyses can be done.
Before leaving the scene, the workers -- many of whom are inmates at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility -- held an impromptu memorial service at the debris pile.
"The geologists have studied the hill," Ventura County Fire Chief Bob Roper said. "They have seen some additional areas that they have severe concerns about, and they're putting together a plan now on what to do as far as the recovery effort and allowing people to return to their homes."
Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett urged caution.
He said geologists would conduct intensive analyses on the area's topography to determine if it's safe to continue living there. A large mudslide in 1995 also caused extensive damage in La Conchita.
Roper said the last three people remaining on the official list of the missing called authorities Wednesday night to report they were fine, and there were no bodies known to remain in the debris.
Officials have released a second list of people who had connections to the area, Roper said, hoping to rule out that they were in the community when the mudslide hit.
"We have an additional list of about 19 people that we've checked with the post office, Internet searches and so forth, that may have been getting mail or lived in the area," Roper said.
State of emergency
Mudslides across the main thoroughfare of Highway 126 have cut off Piru, another town in Ventura County, The Associated Press reported. Residents there tried to make the best of their isolation.
"It brings everyone together," Richard Aries, 42, told the AP. "We're relatively lucky -- fortunate compared to other people."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured La Conchita on Wednesday, pledging to do everything possible to help residents affected by the disaster.
Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Ventura County, opening the door for more state funds for the region to help with damage expenses.
"In the past few days, we have seen the power of nature cause damage and despair, but we will match that power with our own resolve, and we will come together as Californians and neighbors," he said.
Schwarzenegger said he was impressed by the strength shown by the residents he spoke to during his tour.
"The first thing they said was, 'We'll be back,' " he recounted. "They said they wanted to rebuild."
The slide brought down tons of mud, sand and debris onto more than a dozen homes. Roper said 15 homes were destroyed and 16 damaged.
Bodies of mother, 3 daughters recovered
Early Wednesday morning, rescue crews pulled the bodies of a mother and her three daughters from the debris.
The father, Jimmie Wallet, had gone out to get ice cream at the time of the mudslide, an official with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said.
Wallet assisted in the search overnight and was there when a search dog led rescue personnel to where his wife, Mechelle, and daughters Paloma, Raven and Hannah were buried in debris, according to a report by CNN affiliate KCAL. (Full story)
In all, 10 people were pulled out alive, eight of whom were taken to hospitals, Roper said. Two of them were in critical condition.
Parts of Southern California recorded nearly 2 feet of rain in the past week, prompting Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn to declare a state of emergency Wednesday.
The declaration allows the city to seek state and federal disaster aid, Hahn's office said.
Authorities blamed the weather for the deaths of more than 20 people, including the 10 in La Conchita.
The storm that caused the mudslide moved east, bringing flooding that has destroyed more homes and washed out roads in other Western states, the AP reported. (Full story)
CNN's Chuck Conder, Rusty Dornin, Kimberly Osias, Ted Rowlands and Peter Viles contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
