San Diego sinkhole causes landslide

A hillside home began to collapse Wednesday after a street buckled in an upscale neighborhood. No injuries were reported.

Power lines fell, and at least four homes were evacuated, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Gas and power supplies were shut off.

At least seven other homes were in danger of being damaged, according to Gary Hassen, a spokesman for the San Diego Police Department. There were other homes at the bottom of the hill.

The sinkhole in the La Jolla neighborhood cut in a cone shape and was about 50 yards long.

The stricken area is on the east side of Soledad Mountain Road, between Desert View Drive and Palomino Circle, a place where authorities have long been worried about landslides. More than 100 firefighters were at the scene Wednesday morning. Engineers were in the area Tuesday to drill holes to evaluate whether residents needed to be evacuated from their homes but did not consider the matter this urgent at that time, CBS8 quoted San Diego Gas & Electric Co. as saying.The utility said Wednesday morning it has shut off power to 2,144 customers as a result of the slide. At least three significant hill slides have occurred in the vicinity between 1961 and 1994.