Rancho Palos Verdes: Unlikely Ally

Homes in Rancho Palos Verdes (Getty/SFGate)

Three months ago we wrote about the slow-moving disaster in Rancho Palos Verdes, where some homes are sliding toward the ocean. However, the slippage has slowed for an unexpected reason.

Recently, though, the rate of failure has slowed somewhat, giving new hope to those on the edge. And it’s thanks to an unlikely ally: drought.

At a May 6 city council meeting, Rancho Palos Verdes geologist Mike Phipps explained that the land movement across much of the peninsula has stabilized (or at least decelerated) recently. “Mr. Phipps believes this is largely due to significantly below-average rainfall through April,” according to a news update on the meeting from the city’s website, which added that “winterization measures” last fall and “ongoing dewatering efforts” have also contributed to the slowdown. Since the start of the rainy season back in October, the region has received only 46% of its average seasonal rainfall total this year.

In California we're lucky to have had three wet winters in a row, but in Rancho Palos Verdes that's too much of a good thing.

Sense of Foreboding

(Image from UC-Berkeley)

During the summer of 1989 the Bay Area experienced a swarm of small earthquakes that caused little damage. On October 17th the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake struck and, according to Wikipedia, resulted in 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries, and about $6 billion of damage.

Although I've experienced many earthquakes in my 50 years living here, the 1989 experience has taught me to stop what I'm doing after a jolt to see if there's a bigger one coming. Fortunately that didn't happen after a series of shocks along the Hayward fault on Thursday.

It's been 158 years since the Hayward fault's last major temblor, a 6.8, and it's perhaps more "overdue" than the San Andreas fault that produced the great 1906 and 1989 quakes.

The Bay Area has escaped the natural disasters that have occurred in other parts of the State, but I am feeling a sense of foreboding based on nothing more than wondering how long both major faults will continue to be quiet. May we keep our go bags ready and our gas tanks full.

Slip Sliding Away

Palos Verdes Peninsula in LA (Fallon/AFP/SFGate)

Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in Los Angeles, west of Long Beach. The city has a population of 42,000 and is known

for its breathtaking ocean views, luxurious homes, and serene environment, [and] has been named the richest retirement town in the country, boasting a median household income of $166,747.

I became familiar with RPV when I helped an aviation executive put together business plans for a startup (we couldn't persuade enough investors to make a go of it). He loved living there not only for the aforementioned attributes but also because its schools made it an excellent place to raise his kids. Now the community is suffering from a slow-moving natural disaster: [bold added]

According to data captured by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory using airborne radar, a portion of the Palos Verdes Peninsula is slipping towards the Pacific Ocean as much as 4 inches per week.

California has experienced its share of natural disasters in recent years. However, its wealthiest residents have generally avoided feeling the consequences....until the Pacific Palisades fire showed that even they are vulnerable.

Repairing Pacific Palisades, and perhaps Rancho Palos Verdes, will require funds that only the Federal Government can provide, yet the Progressives that run California have passed legislation to "Trump-proof" California. Why poke the bear? The moneyed backers of the current regime can only wonder if it is really interested in protecting their interests.

Big Sur: the Latest Closure

Hwy 1 "slip out" in Monterey County

One week ago we posted about a mudslide in Santa Cruz County that has disrupted the lives of five households. On a much smaller scale it reminded us of the 2017 mudslide that inconvenienced thousands who travel on Highway 1 in Big Sur.

Last week Highway 1 was closed again, this time in Monterey County.

The slip-out occurred Saturday, causing the highway to be closed and stranding an estimated 1,600 residents and visitors. Since Sunday, Caltrans has been opening Highway 1 twice a day to convoys, but those convoys have been canceled Thursday and Friday because of the rain forecast. They are expected to resume Saturday.

The good news is that single-lane traffic in the affected area is safe, provided that rain doesn't weaken the structure further. However, hoping that there will be no more damage is a gamble:

Officials issued an evacuation warning on Wednesday for the region south of the existing slip-out near the Rocky Creek Bridge ahead of the coming storms. Anyone within the evacuation zone was urged to leave before anticipated road closures.

“If you feel unsafe, medically fragile, or are unprepared to be isolated for several days, leave immediately ... storms may cause additional damage along Highway 1,” Monterey County officials wrote in an alert.

The convoys are expected to halt Thursday and Friday but will resume once the storms clear, likely on Saturday, Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli said.

With more storms on the way, meteorologists were concerned that additional rain could trigger landslides on other parts of the famed highway.

The Big Sur Highway has been called one of the top scenic drives in the world and attracts millions of visitors every year. However, mudslides cost millions of dollars to repair, and it's only a matter of time before the tectonic plates shift and cause worse damage than slides. When it's man against nature, nature usually wins. In a hundred years, if it does remain open, count on it to look very different.

Slow Landslide

Residents have to walk around the slide to get home.

When I think of a "landslide," I imagine a wall of rocks and mud and/or dirt crushing all before it, posing an immediate threat to life and property. Some residents in Santa Cruz County are suffering through a landslide that moves a foot a week.

County officials first became aware of cracks appearing on a portion of Mountain Charlie Road just south of Lexington Reservoir on Feb. 26. The slide, which officials say is currently still moving at a rate of at least one foot per week, has rendered a portion of the road inaccessible to cars and barely accessible on foot, and almost completely decimated a private driveway just off the road that leads to five houses.

Residents of the five houses currently have tenuous access to water, internet and propane, and were forced to carve out a trail down a steep hill to walk by foot onto Mountain Charlie Road since the driveway is completely inaccessible by car and by foot. For residents living south of the landslide, the portion of Mountain Charlie Road that was affected by the landslide remains temporarily accessible on foot, but ongoing movement with the slide and intermittent rain may change that in the near future.

With fire season approaching, residents are also worried that the landslide could block emergency vehicles from accessing their homes in the event of a fire or other emergency...

But since the slide is moving every day, it will soon be inaccessible by foot, and all residents will be forced to drive several miles to Scotts Valley to safely get onto Highway 17, making a 15- to 30-minute commute now one to two hours. And with the onset of warmer weather and a corresponding increase in traffic from beachgoers using Highway 17, they’re worried that these already long commutes could double or even triple in length.

After the slide slows to 3-6 inches a week, repairs to the road will take one to three years. The effect of this slow-moving slide is reminiscent of the mudslide that sorely inconvenienced thousands in 2017.

Despite wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural (and human-caused) disasters, there are still millions of us Californians who would not live anywhere else. Go figure.