Pacifica home on edge of cliff being demolished
PACIFICA, Calif. (KGO) -- Most people in Pacifica know the little yellow house at 532 Esplanade Avenue. The red tagged home has been teetering on the edge of the cliff for two years; it will be demolished on Thursday.
"It was one of our favorite places on earth," said former homeowner Melissa McConnell.
McConnell and her husband bought the home in 2009. She says fierce El Nino storms in 2015 caused her backyard to drop into the surf below.
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"That was a scary night, we could hear the Sanden earth dropping away as the cliff collapsed," McConnell added.
The city yellow tagged the home but McConnell tried everything to save it, including hiring an engineering firm to move the house 20 feet toward the sidewalk. She had hopes of relocating the house somewhere in Pacifica but a suitable lot was never found.
The home remains at risk of falling down the crumbling cliffside, like some neighboring homes did following powerful storms in 1998.
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"We always knew the end would come we just didn't think it would happen this fast," said McConnell.
The City of Pacifica took possession the home last week, following a purchase agreement.
McConnell says she will be there to witness the home's demolition starting Thursday morning.
