Police closed the lower section of Park Avenue in Laguna Beach today, Sunday, Jan. 22, due to a possible landslide even as a flash flood watch was issued, urging people to avoid flooded areas, until 5:30 p.m. this evening.
The second storm to drench the town in three days dropped about 1.81 inches of precipitation as of 4 p.m., the National Weather Service reported.
Park Avenue was closed between Wendt Terrace and Tahiti Street, below Thurston Middle School, at 2:33 p.m. today due to reports of “hillside movement,” Sgt. Tim Kleiser confirmed. A geologist was on the way to inspect the area, Kleiser said.
A traffic officer at the checkpoint said the earth in the area could be heard creaking. No homes are in the immediate area, but a significant slide would block one of only two main access streets to the Top of the World neighborhoods.
A two-man public works crew used shovels to clear a small rockslide, which spilled onto the shoulder at Bluebird Canyon Drive near Summit Drive. Other crews were spotted clearing debris from drains, many of them overflowing with runoff.
Wind-whipped waves lashed beaches and a high surf warning is in affect through Tuesday,
according to the National Weather Service.
The storm on Friday, Jan. 20, which was accompanied by 60 mph winds, uprooted trees in several sections of town.
