Streets flooded, snarling traffic. Beaches and backcountry trails flooded. Theme parks closed.
Orange County and the rest of Southern California got hit with a steady rainfall Monday, when a storm parked itself over the region.
Officials along Orange County’s coast were carefully monitoring vulnerable sections of their hillsides Monday where tarps already covered several previous landslides.
“We’re just telling everybody to be incredibly cautious,” said State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall. “Get updated before you go to a destination. Just check and make sure you can get there. Keep safety in mind.”
Bolsa Chica State Beach was closed due to flooding and campers at Doheny State Beach were asked to voluntarily evacuate as Monday’s storm slammed the region.
“There’s literally no access to Bolsa,” said Pearsall, noting that Pacific Coast Highway was also flooded and closed.
Some campers at Doheny State Beach set up in RVs opted to stay, while others who wanted to cancel their reservations were given a refund, he said.
State Parks also issued a notice that backcountry closures were in place at Crystal Cove State Parks to mitigate trail erosion.
In San Clemente, there continued to be some visible movement in the soil where a landslide Jan. 24 damaged a section of the Mariposa Bridge along the city’s popular beach trail and cutoff train service south to San Diego because debris was reaching the nearby train tracks. But restoration of a culvert system appears to have been effective, according to an update by Metrolink spokesperson Scott Johnson.
Passenger train service continues to be halted through San Clemente, but freight rail traffic has resumed.
“There are continual visual and electronic measurements taking place of the hillside,” Johnson said of the hillside monitoring that continues.
Officials announced last week a wall will be built to protect the track in that area.
On Monday, officials sent out an alert that two more…
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