Homeowner Kevin Best stands on the deck of his home next to where workers were laying plastic sheeting to try to stabilize the hillside there, on Oak Hill Road in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. Heavy rains caused a mudslide early on the morning of Jan. 23, sending a cascade of mud and trees into a creek below and threatening at least two neighboring homes including Best's. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )

OAKLAND -- A homeowner in the Oakland hills is working to stabilize his property after a mudslide left his home's foundation exposed, he said Wednesday.

The slide occurred at 1 a.m. Saturday at the multistory home on Oak Hill Road following weeks of rain.

Homeowner Kevin Best said Wednesday he's hired a team of workers to shore up the land surrounding his home, which is built on a hillside near the Sequoyah Golf Course.

One surveyor had to be rescued by Oakland firefighters on Tuesday afternoon, after the surveyor fell about 80 feet down the hill and became stuck in the mud, fire officials said.

The foundation of the home could be seen exposed Wednesday as inspectors were surveying the land to see what may have caused the mudslide.

Homeowner Kevin Best stands on the deck of his home next to where workers were laying plastic sheeting to try to stabilize the hillside there, on Oak Hill Road in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. Heavy rains caused a mudslide early on the morning of Jan. 23, sending a cascade of mud and trees into a creek below and threatening at least two neighboring homes including Best's. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON )

The East Bay Municipal Utility District has ruled out water leaks as a cause but found groundwater pooling in the area around the home, utility district spokeswoman Tracie Morales said. City engineers also surveyed the property and did not determine the home to be too unsafe to live in, Best said.

The Best family, after staying over the weekend at the Hilton Hotel near Oakland International Airport, has returned to the home but the slide is concerning to Best.

"I'm smiling now but I'm hurting inside," he said.

Since it occurred on his property and not the city-maintained creek below it is now his responsibility to stabilize the land. Best said mudslides are not covered through his homeowners insurance and was upset the insurance company did not send out a specialist or engineer.


"He's the same guy they would send out to look at a dent in your car," Best said.

David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him in Oakland at 510-208-6453. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt.