Mudslides in the Berkeley Hills triggered evacuations and closed roads on Monday morning, officials said.
A Nixle alert issued this morning advised residents in the area of Middlefield Road, Wildcat Canyon Road and The Spiral to be prepared to evacuate, the Berkeley Police Department told SFGATE. The alert also asked people to avoid the area.
Berkeley Councilmember Susan Wengraf told SFGATE the mudslide in the Park Hills neighborhood occurred at about 6 a.m. and seven homes were evacuated. One home was red-tagged on Middlefield Road, Wengraf said.
“It’s my understanding that there’s no need to evacuate any further,” she said on the phone at noon.
The Spiral — a short road off Wildcat Canyon Road — and Middlefield Road north of the Crossways, are both closed, Berkeley police said in an advisory.
Wildcat Canyon Road between Sunset and Park Hills roads is also closed due to a mudslide. Authorities responded to the area shortly after 7 a.m.
The ground is still moving and trees can be heard cracking from the slide, Berkeley Fire Battalion Chief Bill Kehoe said around 9 a.m.
A mudslide was also reported Monday morning in the area of Sports Lane and the Clark Kerr campus. UC Berkeley Police asked people to avoid the area.
Journalist Frances Dinkelspiel posted images on Twitter showing a mudslide on Alvarado Road in the Berkeley-Oakland area. “An Oakland police officer just said the Oakland Public Works looked at Alvarado Road slide and said it is so big that the city will have to hire a contractor to clean it up,” Dinkelspiel, the co-founder and former executive editor of Berkeleyside and Cityside wrote. “So the road will be closed for a bit.”
Bay City News contributed to this story. This breaking news story was updated.