How an ‘ancient landslide’ keeps threatening a railroad, homes in San Clemente
A “large rock” has fallen from the mountains above San Clemente that has threatened a railroad and properties in the city of San Clemente — and authorities believe a similar rock could be another threat to the same railroad, homes and the railroad tracks.
SAN CLEMENTE — The rock was big enough to cause a derailment of the Pacific Coast Railroad’s freight train from Los Angeles to Bakersfield.
And on Monday, the rock was big enough to cause two homes on the same residential street to fall over.
The rock came down in the hills above San Clemente last week.
The city’s public works department estimates that the rock will move in a 5-6 minutes time frame. The rocks were smaller than the rocks that derailed the train in the recent crash, Mayor Pete Kern said.
The rock also could pose dangers to a rail yard and a pipeline on a ranch.
“It could put a lot of people at risk,” Kern said.
The rocks are big and move much faster than the railroad tracks. The rocks could move in less than a second.
So far, Kern said the rocks have not caused any rail yard or pipeline damage.
The rocks’ movement Monday was not unusual. The rocks have not moved in the past five days, Kern said. The rocks were expected to move by Tuesday morning, he said.
For that reason, the rocks could be another threat to the railroad, Kern said.
Railroad officials said they have asked the state Department of Transportation to look into what could happen if the rocks move faster than the railroad track.
“We’re prepared for anything,” said John C. Hoehn, the rail agency’s senior vice president of engineering. “We’ll be ready in a minute, not a second.”
Officials noted that there is not much time to prepare. The rock is expected to reach the track by Wednesday morning.
The PCCR tracks go through a canyon called San Clemente Canyon.
The boulders have fallen in the canyon as part of an ongoing landslide that began about four years ago, said Scott Robinson, a state Geological Survey
