It’s hard to cook Thanksgiving dinner without electricity or natural gas.
But thanks to Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes residents who lack utilities because of the ongong landslide there won’t have to worry about that.
The upscale RPV resort will provide free Thanksgiving day meals to residents who have had their utilities shut off, the city has announced — and volunteers will deliver the meals to homes on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 28.
“Our hearts go out to the Rancho Palos Verdes community residents affected by the recent landslides,” Ralph Grippo, president of Terranea Resort, said in a statement recently posted on RPV’s website. “During this season of gratitude, we are especially thankful to be part of such a resilient and cherished coastal community. We value our connection with our neighbors and hope to bring a sense of comfort and joy during the holiday season.”
The free meals, which residents had to request by Monday evening, are part of the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula’s “Mend the Bend” effort, which provides weekly dinners to residents, the city said in its announcment. Those meals are donated by local restaurants.
Initially, about 280 homes in the 680-acre Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex, as well as a smattering of properties in then northern area of Rolling Hills, had their power and gas shutoff in early September because the ongoing landslide was stressing infrastructure, utility companies said — making it unsafe to continue providing those services.
Southern California Edison restored power to 28 homes late last month. But as of last week, about 260 residential SCE customers were still without power across Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills and 232 lacked gas, according to SCE and Southern California Gas Co. officials.
The ongoing landslide, which was caused by deluges the last two winter seasons, has upended life for many in RPV over the last year.
The land movement has continually damaged the heavily traveled Palos Verdes Drive South, closed more than 13 miles of popular trails, and forced the historic Wayfarers Chapel to be dismantled. It has also wrecked homes, cracking foundations — and splitting and sundering properties.
While the land movement has slowed in recent months, according to RPV’s geologist, and help has come to residents in the form of $10,000 grants from Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office and a home buyout program — made possible by a partnership among FEMA, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the city — there’s no telling how long the slide’s impacts will linger. And with the next winter season looming, there’s concern that heavy rains could slow the progress the city has made to slow the land movement via dewatering wells.
The city, meanwhile, is also pressing SoCal Gas and SCE — as well as Cox Communications — to “restore the utilities in light of all the data that we’ve collected since September,” Mihranian said.
“Without making any promises to the community, because we keep pressing, but we’re hoping that they will consider restoring area by area, even if it’s just a few houses at a time,” City Manager Ara Mihranian said earlier this month. “Because they did restore power to 16 properties in the Portuguese Bend Community Association.”
But until then, residents without power need help. And there’s been no shortage of people and organizations trying to lend a hand.
There was a recent art auction, with the money raised from it going to help residents. Two nonprofits, The Laundry Truck LA and The Shower of Hope, have also offered their services — free laundering and showers, respectively — to RPV residents without utilities.
And now, Terranea Resort is making sure residents can have a happy — and filling — Thanksgiving.
The individual dinners will be packaged and delivered by volunteers to residences from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, according to the city’s press release.
“For the past 15 years, Terranea Resort has embodied what it means to be a community partner,” RPV Mayor John Cruikshank said in a statement. “On behalf of the city, we express our deepest gratitude for this act of generosity, ensuring residents whose lives have been disrupted by land movement and utility shutoffs will enjoy a special Thanksgiving meal during one of the most difficult times in their lives.
“We also thank the volunteers who will be delivering the meals,” he added, “and all those in our community who have contributed to the Mend the Bend meal program over the past two months.”
To volunteer to deliver meakls, email [email protected].