PCH Lanes Reopen After Landslide Cleanup [VIDEO]

Update: 3:29 p.m.: All lanes of Pacific Coast Highway at Temescal Canyon Road have been reopened, says Patrick Chandler of Caltrans.

Update 2:45 p.m.: Caltrans spokesman Patrick Chandler says they have removed 28 truckloads, or about 150 yard of debris, including mud and dirt. The roots from the removed tree were left in the ground to keep the ground as stable as possible.They are installing six, 20,000-pound concrete barriers known as K-rails at the site of the landslide as well. Chandler says they estimate to reopen the PCH northbound between 3 and 5 p.m.

Original: A landslide closed the northbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway near Temescal Canyon Road on Thursday morning.

The slide was reported around 4:15 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol's online Traffic Incident Information page. A stretch of PCH is closed between Temescal Canyon Road and West Coastline Drive, according to broadcast reports.

As of 11:42 a.m., the northbound lanes are still closed and it is unclear when they will reopen.

Traffic is being diverted up Temescal Canyon Road to Sunset Boulevard. Drivers can make it back to northbound PCH via Sunset. Southbound PCH lanes are open, but expect heavy traffic in the area.

Most of the debris were cleared by 7:45 a.m. by Caltrans, and officials were evaluating the stability of the hillside. Northbound PCH lanes were expected to remain closed for several more hours.

No injuries were reported, said a desk officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's West Los Angeles Station.

Scott Wagenseller, of Palisades Patrol, wrote in an email to Patch the slide is 85 percent cleaned up, but crews are concerned about an unstable tree that may fall across PCH and damage power lines. An evergreen tree on mobile home park property at the edge of the slide was being cut down this morning.

"Caltrans geologists consulted with the property owner's geologists," Caltrans spokesman Patrick Chandler told Channel ABC7. "They're going to chop (down) one of the trees up there, but leave the root system in place to provide stability for the slope."

Preliminary information indicates the slide may have been caused by a garden hose that was left running overnight, Wagenseller wrote.

Crews were planning to line that section of the road with K-rails.

The city's Department of Building and Safety was notified of the slide, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Some structures are at the top of the hillside area.

Students heading to Pepperdine's Malibu campus were advised in an email to take alternative routes, including the 405 to Sunset Boulevard and the 405 to the 101 Freeways, exiting at Malibu Canyon/Las Virgenes Road.

- City News Service contributed ot this report.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

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