A house that narrowly survived a landslide in the Pacific Palisades community this week was severely damaged by the landslide.

Photos of the wreckage show the single-family home completely split in half. The nearly 1,000-square-foot home was listed for rent on Zillow last year.

Bryan Kirkwood, who was hired to provide security for the house that survived the fire, told KTLA the debris flow likely originated from a house above.

"It's devastating. I didn't realize it was this bad," Kirkwood told the station. "I didn't see the news, so I went out and looked at it, and I didn't realize it until now. Wow. This is a big deal."

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power confirmed in a statement that the agency first inspected the area on Jan. 12 and isolated the water main at Castellammare Drive above where the landslide occurred.

Crews returned to the area Thursday morning and found the house had cracked open and slid onto the road, the statement said.

"Upon inspection, it appears that the home above was destroyed in the fire and collapsed, which also caused damage to the Los Angeles Water Department's water mains and buried the water meter and containment valve, causing additional water flow," to the statement.

Crews opened a fire hydrant and connected a hose to divert water flowing through a closed gate valve into the water main instead of out of the collapsed house.

Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the agency is working with the California Department of Transportation to try to provide support for fires and areas with fragile soils.

"To address this issue, we are developing plans for both regions to capture and block as much of this debris as possible during rainfall periods," Pestrella said at a news conference on Thursday.

Rainfall can trigger landslides — or, in this case, water from prolonged firefights — saturating weak or loose soil, causing it to slide down hillsides.

"No matter where you live in Los Angeles County, if you have slopes behind your home or you're on top of a slope, those slopes are going to be vulnerable," Pestrella said. "Due to the events we experienced, including wind, the soil that supports your home is weakened and damaged. ... Even without rain, the mudslide danger is present, so we want people to be very careful."

Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report.