Massive Mudslide Devastates Oak Glen Steakhouse, Help Sought

OAK GLEN, CA — The residents and businesses of Oak Glen on Tuesday confronted the devastation caused by a river of mud that thundered down the mountainside Monday, forcing evacuations and road closures.

The evacuation orders will remain in place through Wednesday for residents from Oak Glen Road, from Casa Blanca Road to the county line and south from Wild Lilac Point down to Wildwood Canyon Road. Additionally, road closures remained in place at Oak Glen Road at Wildwood Canyon Road, Oak Glen Road at Casa Blanca Avenue, and California State Highway 38 at Valley of the Falls Drive. In the meantime, some residents and business owners have begun the long slog of recovery.

Brandon Gallegos, manager and part owner of the Oak Glen Steakhouse, is no stranger to disaster, he told Patch. His restaurant parking area has often been a staging ground for the county in times of fire and cleanups such as this.

Now, he is the one who needs help.

During the mudslide, the steakhouse was filled with up to five feet of debris thick enough to stand on. Gallegos estimates up to 70 percent of the building suffered damage from the incident.

Dr. Roger Seheult— a 13-year resident of Oak Glen in the Oak Tree Mountain Village area, watched the “tidal wave” of mud wash over the steakhouse.

He recorded the mudslide as it happened and shared a video of the thick mud thundering down Oak Glen Road at Potato Canyon Road as it filled the area in and around the steakhouse.

Sehuelt had set out to pick his children up from school at about 3 p.m. Monday when he came face to face with the first wave of the mudslide on Oak Glen Road.

The mudslide came dangerously close to him, he told Patch.

“If I had been two minutes earlier…” said Seheult.

“Normally I would turn left onto Potato Canyon Road, but I noticed a huge massive amount of something in the creekbed.”

Realizing the creekbed overflowed with mud, Seheult pulled over to the right, below the steakhouse near another car to capture a photo for his wife.

“I heard a lot of noise like I’ve heard before from boulders rumbling down. Another resident watching from the fence started shouting ‘get out of here!’” Seheult said. “It was jarring, my hands were shaking as I filmed it. I was scared.”

Seheult and his family survived the El Dorado Fire two years ago, and he has seen mud go down into Potato Canyon before and witnessed the cleanup that follows. But there was something different about this one, according to Seheult. He said he’s never witnessed the amount of mud that surrounded and filled the steakhouse Monday afternoon.

The steakhouse has been a cornerstone for neighborhood support since opening its doors. Gallegos has hosted fundraisers for those in need, such as for one worker who suffered a devastating injury from a motorcycle crash. The restaurant, purchased after his father's Mega Millions lottery win, employs 27 workers who now face an uncertain future. After the mudslide, Gallegos said his first thought was for his workers and his family.

Then, he took in the magnitude of what happened inside his restaurant.

“Once we knew things were safe, our main goal was to get as many additional valuables out of the restaurant as possible,” Gallegos said. “Just in case it isn’t over.”

Like Sehuelt, he’d watched the hillsides devoured by flames during the El Dorado Fire of 2020. He took to social media to show the devastation left behind by Tropical Storm Kay and the resulting mudslide. His voice choked with emotion as he slow-panned the scene, inside and out. He estimates about 70 percent of the steakhouse is filled with 5 feet of thick debris.

“You can stand on it and touch the ceiling,” he said. “We are assessing the damage, day by day, working with insurance. In the meantime, we are our own remediation team.”

Gallegos asked for help from anyone with a bobcat or shovel who wants to lend a hand. He started a GoFundMe page to help offset the costs of the cleanup which promises to be extensive. Still, his initial reaction to the disaster was disbelief, he said.

“I apologize to everybody…” he said in a video posted to Facebook. “Our building is covered inside and out by mother nature coming down from these mountains during a small rain storm. You can see mud and debris outside, this is what the inside of my building looks like as well. Everyone here that works with us, we’re devastated. To everyone who has something arranged with us in the future we are so sorry, and we’ll make it up to you guys.”

Hundreds of supporters have shared their goodwill and desire to lend manpower to the cleanup effort over Facebook.

One supporter described her own cleanout efforts. “I know this sounds goofy, but do you need help shoveling?" she wrote. "I’ve been shoving out my front yard from the flood."

Gallegos thanked everyone for warming their hearts and offering to help. His GoFundMe campaign raised over $3,500 in a matter of hours.

“This restaurant is the result of blood, sweat and tears,” he said. “To hear those words and see that they appreciate us means the world, it made yesterday a lot easier hearing those words.”

The steakhouse remains a fixture in the community, said Seheult.

“It’s that place you know you can go to any time,” Seheult said. “The owners are nice people and do a lot for Oak Glen.”

Gallegos plans to excavate the mud and start the road to recovery for the restaurant as soon as possible, but time will tell when and if the business can reopen.

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