Rush hour nightmare: Hollywood Hills balcony collapse shuts down Laurel Canyon Boulevard
Amid stormy weather and a Wednesday afternoon rush hour, authorities were forced to close Laurel Canyon Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills after a home’s back balcony collapsed onto the road.
The earth underneath the home, in the 8100 block of Gould Avenue, was saturated and gave way, sending a 9,000-pound slab of concrete and a retaining wall sliding 20 feet down to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
No one was injured but the building was red-tagged, displacing the residents, officials said. Homes on either side of the property were yellow-tagged by Los Angeles’ Building and Safety Department, meaning residents can stay there but can’t go into the backyard until the city determines it’s safe.
The road, a main thoroughfare through the Hollywood Hills for commuters trying to avoid the 101 Freeway, was closed between Gould Avenue and Kirkwood Drive, Los Angeles fire officials said.
Though it was raining Wednesday, inspectors said it’s too soon to determine if the collapse was caused exclusively by the weather, said Building and Safety spokesman Dave Lara.
“It doesn’t appear that other portions of the property have had that kind of issue with the rain, but we’re going to have one of our soil engineers take a closer look,” he said.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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