As San Clemente city officials prepared for this weekend’s arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary, much of their concern focused on the already unstable slope under the city’s historic Casa Romantica.
The casa, the former home of the town founder Ole Hanson, had already sustained damage from winter storms and in April lost its view terrace and parts of its grounds when the slope beneath broke away and slid – partially impacting a nearby condominium building and the railroad tracks below. Land movement continued over the next few months and in July, the City Council approved $8.5 million to stabilize the slope.
On Sunday, when high winds and rain hit San Clemente along with the rest of Southern California, the preparations with plastic sheeting and sandbags to guard the slope held up, officials said. The sandbags and plastic sheeting were also staged near the condos to direct water away from that area.
San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan checked on the site midday Sunday and reported everything appeared to be intact.
On Monday, Kiel Koger, the city’s engineer and public works director, said he was pleased with the emergency preparedness efforts.
“The slope held up well through the storm,” Koger said. “We had a small amount of mud on the sidewalk this morning at Reef Gate condos, but not much. Staff monitored the site throughout the day.”
Koger said the work to stabilize the slope permanently will start in two weeks when some of the material needed to do the construction arrives.
“The slope should be fairly dry underneath the plastic sheeting once removed,” Koger said. “There are some other areas of the property that should dry out before heavy equipment is brought on site. We will have warm and dry weather going forward, which will help.”
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