Residents allowed to return to town

LA CONCHITA, Calif. - With the search for survivors ended, residents of this devastated oceanfront town went home on Friday, with many struggling to decide if they should stay in what authorities warned was still a dangerous place.

"We want you to be well aware of that. We want to make sure there are no misunderstandings," Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett told several hundred people before an evacuation order was lifted.

Alan Sloan, 33, returned to his rented mobile home for the first time since the giant wall of mud crashed into the town on Monday. He didn't stay long.

"I'm out of here," the roofing contractor said as he quickly packed his belongings. "I have no shame in admitting that I'm terrified of that hill, no shame whatsoever. It was a very humbling experience."

Sloan recalled hearing the cries of people under the mud and a "tremendous crash" as the slide pushed another house toward his undamaged dwelling.

Ten people died and 13 homes were destroyed in the community of about 260 people nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the hills south of Santa Barbara. Another 23 dwellings have been red-tagged, meaning access is forbidden.

Officials said it would take two to four weeks for water service to be restored, and two to seven days for gas and electricity to be turned back on.

Jimmie Wallet also returned to town after losing his wife and three daughters in the slide. He hugged a deputy and several neighbors before going into a garage near the site where his family died.

Neighbors had filled the garage with surfboards, photos and other household items salvaged from the home the Wallet had shared with other families.

Annie Brazelton, 24, had also lived at the house.

"We lost family, all of them," she said tearfully.

Her stepfather, Thomas Cottril, 45, of Santa Barbara, said Brazelton would not return to La Conchita.

"There has been too much misery," he said, looking up at the slide.

James Lavoo, 43, a registered nurse, also returned to his mobile home for the first time since Monday. After checking for damage, he fired up his gas grill and cooked a couple steaks from his freezer before they went bad.

He said the problems with electricity and water might force him to leave for a few more days. But he intended to keep living in La Conchita, despite his mixed feelings.

"I just pray there is not going to be more rain," he said, sitting shirtless on his deck and holding a guitar. "It's going to make me think for a long time."

A number of people said it was critical for them to return - if only for a short time - to retrieve medicine, clothing and other personal items.

"I'll risk my life to go in ... I need to get my things," said Anelle Beebe. a clothing store owner whose home of 24 years was red-tagged even though it had no structural damage.

Officials said it was too close to the unstable bluff that sent 400,000 tons of mud cascading onto the town.

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks has said the town will always be "geologically hazardous" and warned residents against returning because of the danger of another collapse.

He conceded, however, that officials had no authority to prevent people from returning if their homes have been found to be safe.

It was the second time in 10 years the town had been hit by a massive mudslide. In 1995, 600,000 tons of mud crashed down, destroying nine homes.