Residents in South Laguna still recovering from a massive flow of mud released when an 8-foot sinkhole opened up last weekend worried on Friday what additional hazards more rain might bring.
Mud and debris flowed about 300 yards through backyards starting at Sunset Avenue, down through a fence into several homes along Virginia Way and then headed down 10th Avenue across Coast Highway to Thousands Steps Beach where plumes of mud could be seen in the ocean.
Officials with the South Coast Water District, who have worked all week with crews from Ocean Blue Environmental Services and ATI Restoration, said about 110,000 gallons of water were discharged from a water main broken on Sunday, March 5, after the sinkhole started forming. When the surface gave way it swallowed a Range Rover parked along the street.
Emergency personnel from Laguna Beach responded to the scene Sunday morning after reports of water, as did water district officials.
The first call came in around 7 a.m., after a resident on Sunset observed water bubbling and pooling on the asphalt street near the location that nearly an hour later became the sinkhole, said Sheena Johnson, a spokesperson for the water district. When the sinkhole broke through, the Rover fell onto a gas line and ruptured it. The immediate area was temporarily evacuated. Johnson said the vehicle was hauled out and was able to be driven away.
Geologists hired by the water district this week studied the location and as of Friday, March 10, didn’t have an answer on what caused the water main to break. The line, Johnson said, was relatively new, installed in 2004. They were able to determine that the water main broke after the sinkhole formed, she said.
“Geologists are looking at the angle of the slope, slope stability and the saturation of the soil,” Johnson said. “Preliminary investigating shows the slope has no movement, but we have staff out there monitoring it.”
Marie Clark, one of the property owners on Virginia Way…
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