First a river of mud slid into their homes, and now Oakland Hills homeowners don’t know when the city will be able to dig them out of the mess they're in.
This amid concerns that more rain – forecast in the coming days – could restart the river still pressing against the doors and windows of five homes in the Montclair neighborhood – four of which have been red-tagged.
“Our concern is that the mud will get into our house,” said Frank Stone.
Balancing on a narrow concrete ledge above more than two feet of mud bowing his home’s sliding glass doors, Stone recalled: “This huge ball of mud came pouring down.”
But three days after the Stone family’s home and three more on Banning Drive were deemed too dangerous to occupy, neither Frank nor his wife Barbara has any idea when or how this will be resolved.
“We really need someone to move that mud,” Barbara Stone said. “It’s not raining anymore.”
What’s more is that they’re not sure who’s going to pay for it.
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“First we thought, ‘Good, we have insurance,’ but insurance says they don’t cover this, and that’s pretty stunning,” Barbara Stone said.
A spokesman for the city’s Public Works Department said engineers were in the area today, but gave no indication when work may begin.
“I can’t confirm a timeline for you, but I can say the last thing you want to do in a safety situation is rush it,” Sean Maher said. “We do recognize this is an urgent issue for this community.”
The Stone’s don’t even know when their red-tagged home will be re-evaluated. Until then, they’re doing something they haven’t done in 40-years.
“We’re couch-surfing with friends at this point,” Barbara Stone said.
