Seemingly safe inside his Felton home around noon on a stormy Feb. 7, Moss Caballero turned his head when he heard what he quickly discovered was a mudslide rumbling down the hill outside his house into Shingle Mill Creek below.
After the slide stopped he peered down the slope and saw what used to be his adjoining work shed, tools and building materials cluttering the muddy water. That’s when the second slide hit, taking his deck, septic system, hot tub, part of his concrete foundation and the walls of his bathroom with it.
“I jumped out of my house and watched everything fall into the creek,” said Caballero, 45, a now-displaced resident of 983 Brookside Dr. in Felton for 10 years. “That changed everything in a matter of minutes.”
Caballero, a salesman and freelance consultant, went from being a landlord renting three of his four bedrooms, to being homeless in a matter of seconds.
The 1200-square-foot-home, built in 1949, modest by any standards, is now red-tagged, deemed unlivable by Santa Cruz County
He is one of dozens of mountain homeowners facing difficult options for property damaged or threatened by mudslides this winter, which are rarely covered by insurance.
While exploring his next steps, Caballero works as a caregiver for a family in Santa Cruz. Facing what could be up to $200,000 in repairs, he is running into dead ends as he makes the bureaucratic rounds trying to find financial assitance.
The Federal Bureau of Emergency Management (FEMA) told him it doesn’t have funding available at this time for individual property owners. Caballero’s insurance policy does not cover “moving earth.” Keep Your Home California, a free service for homeowners who have suffered a financial hardship to help them stay in their homes, cannot help because the property is red-tagged.
Meanwhile, he stills owes the monthly mortgage payments for his house. “I still have to pay my mortgage, but I don’t have a house to live in,” he said. “I’m going day-by-day.”
Caballero’s neighbors pitched in during the days following the landslides to help remove his possessions from the creek. He’s also receiving support from a long-time friend, Lincoln Frye.
Frye said he first met Caballero 15 years ago when still a teenager living next door. Before recently moving to San Antonio, Texas, Frye also rented a room from Caballero.
“Moss has helped me many times” said Frye, an IT consultant. “He is always there for me and I will do my best to always be there for him. After all, that’s what friends are for.”
Though the two men talk infrequently, when Frye found out about his friend’s troubles he sprang into action. “I wished I had the money to help him, but I didn’t even have anything worth selling,” he said. “So I set up a GoFundMe account in hopes of bringing him support.”
The GoFundMe site, Moss-from-Felton-needs-assistance, has a goal of $9,000 and has thus far raised $245. “When you have a friend in trouble you want to help out,” Frye said. “Since I moved away I felt I could help via the internet.”
Donations can also be made at a Facebook page Frye established called feltontreehouseintroubleslide. Frye even posted a video describing the situation on You Tube called Friend in Need.
