MOBILE HOME PARK UNITS EVACUATED AFTER RAINS
NORTH COUNTY
Officials evacuated a dozen mobile homes in Vista Thursday morning after days of heavy rains led to flooding and created sinkholes that threatened the structures.
Two sinkholes opened up a day after another sinkhole forced officials to close a section of state Route 78 — a major freeway artery in North County — for days to make repairs.
The evacuations, which happened about 7:20 a.m., left 17 people and seven pets displaced from homes in Green Valley Mobile Home Park on Sunset Drive, Vista Deputy Fire Chief Craig Usher said. The Red Cross is assisting those forced to leave.
Usher said a park resident called 911 “because she felt like her house was sliding off.” Fire crews responded and found a sinkhole underneath her mobile home, which was partly knocked off its foundation. The sinkhole was full of water, so it was not clear how deep it was.
Crews also found flooding in that portion of the park.
A second sinkhole was found close by along Sky Haven Lane, just south of state Route 78 at Emerald Drive. Usher said that hole appeared to be about 10 feet by 4 feet.
Sky Haven is within Oceanside city limits and butts up against the mobile home park on the edge of Vista’s city limits.
A portion of Sky Haven is closed for repairs as Oceanside crews work to patch the sinkhole there. Vista officials said the mobile home park management will have to bring in soil and structural engineers before the evacuees can return to their homes.
Most of the cities along the state Route 78 corridor saw more than 2.5 inches of rain through late Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Caltrans closed a section of the freeway in Oceanside after a sinkhole opened up in the middle of westbound lanes. Crews are making repairs, but the closure could last until Saturday.