At 0532 hours Wednesday, Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a report of a house sliding down the hill and the occupant was sliding down in front of the house. The neighbors saw the occupant “surfing” down the hill on a slab of concrete and quickly grabbed a ladder. They reached with the ladder to the occupant and she grabbed the last rung of the ladder. The three neighbors then pulled the ladder and the occupant up the hill as the slab of concrete continued down the hillside.
As Portland Fire & Rescue crews arrived, they found a large swath of debris had come to rest up against two other houses. Initial reports were that everyone had gotten out of all the affected homes. Upon further investigation, indeed, all individuals in all houses involved had gotten out safely and no one was hurt.
Portland Fire & Rescue responded to the incident with our Urban Search and Rescue Team and equipment. Had anyone been trapped in the homes, Portland Fire & Rescue would have done everything necessary to find and rescue those citizens.
Utilities had been damaged to the area due to the slide and as the day progressed, most customers who had lost power, natural gas, and phone service had those utilities restored.