The Pull of Community at La Conchita

We lived in Santa Barbara in 1995 when La Conchita suffered its first devastating mudslide. Days of torrential rains triggered it. We used to drive by down the 101. It was like a demolition zone. And then 10 years later it happened again, with a terrible loss of life. But people still want to live there, despite the dangers of another slide.

At LAT, "10 years after fatal mudslide, tiny La Conchita accepts the risks":

A child's dollhouse jammed against a chain-link fence marked "No Trespassing" sits in the shadow of a mangled brick home covered in clotted dirt.

Two faded white crosses lie toppled on a mound of soil taller than a man; nearby, upended planters where someone's flowers once grew sprout weeds. A hand-painted sign dangling in the ocean breeze reads, "Do Stuff That Makes Buddha Happy."

The events of Jan. 10, 2005, when 400,000 tons of mud slid down the bluff behind La Conchita, killing seven adults and three children, are frozen in the eerie tableau — a reminder of the hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface. The tragedy came 10 years after the hill collapsed in 1995 when nine homes were lost.

Yet the possibility of the slope crashing again toward the Pacific Ocean has done little to dissuade people from putting down roots in the eclectic Ventura County beach community near the Santa Barbara County line. As the 10-year anniversary of the deadly slide approaches, the 500-foot cliff remains unfortified, and at least four ramshackle houses sit seemingly undisturbed since the last rescue crews left town.

Faded memories, relatively inexpensive real estate and a wide beach not far from the famous Rincon surf point tend to dull the perception of risk. It helps that the ranch at the top of the hill stopped irrigation leaks that residents contended caused the slope to erode.

But the town of 300 residents wedged between the hill and U.S. Highway 101 has another, less tangible draw to survivors and newcomers — community.

"Culturally, it's so similar to Mexico with how important family is," said Kelly Hill, who grew up in La Conchita and moved back last year with her husband and 9-year-old son. "It's like a little fishing village in Mexico. It's the American Mexican fishing village."...

It really is. There used to be a big tropical banana grove on the north side of the town. The place is a trip. So sorry for the tragedy.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.