House damaged by crane still uninhabitable
A multi-story house on Rounsevel Terrace remained uninhabitable Thursday, six days after a 93,000-pound crane fell onto the roof, Laguna Beach Community Development Director Greg Pfost said.
Occupants may enter to retrieve items inside the home in the 2900 block, Pfost said. The crane tore a large hole into the roof and electrical wires were damaged.
The crane had delivered a fountain to another house on Rounsevel mid-day Friday and was attempting to turn onto Hinkle Place when the rear tires lifted off the ground, said Laguna Beach Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse. He added that the turn was sharp and the street steep.
Another vehicle tried to help by tying a towline to the crane, but the line snapped and the crane fell onto the house.
No one was inside at the time the crane fell onto the house and the crane operator was not injured, according to Laguna Beach police.
The homeowner was out of state at the time, though his sister and family, who were staying at the residence while on vacation, watched the incident unfold from the street, LaTendresse said.
Eight tow trucks, using two to three cables each, helped lift the crane off the house Saturday.
The nearby area, including Rounsevel and Alexander Road, were closed to vehicular traffic from Friday afternoon to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Marilyn Coll lives on Rounsevel and wonders whether a crane of its size was needed to deliver the fountain.
“It [the fountain] was rather modest in size and resting on a wooden pallet,” Coll wrote in an email. “From its appearance, it would perhaps have been possible to dismantle the object and carry it up through the interior or exterior stairway. If that was possible, it would have precluded the potential risks associated with crane-lifting an object over the roof and the inconvenience we have all endured as a consequence of the crane accident that has left us marooned on this hill for almost 30 hours.”
LaTendresse said it will be up to the homeowner’s insurance company working with the crane company and the city to determine when the house will be habitable.
Orange County Fire Authority assisted in the crane removal.