Break in Main Forces Closure of Laguna Street

Water spewing from a broken eight-inch water main in Laguna Beach has badly undermined a 20-foot stretch of Summit Drive, causing the road to sink an estimated 10 feet and forcing its closure, authorities said Sunday.

The 1100 block of Summit Drive will be closed for two to three weeks, limiting access to the isolated Arch Beach Heights area to only two public roads and a private fire lane, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Ray Lardie said.

“We lost a 20-foot section of the road, both lanes, and it sank down about 10 feet,” Lardie said Sunday. “There were no injuries. We almost lost a police car, but that was all.”

Elizabeth C. Sedgwick was in bed Saturday when the main burst just after 11 p.m. about half a block from her home at the corner of Katella Street and Summit Drive.

‘Heard a Bubbling Brook’

“It was real quiet,” said Sedgwick, 35, “and suddenly I heard a bubbling brook.”

So Sedgwick got into her car and drove up Summit Drive to find the source of the rushing water. When she returned home, she reported her find to the Fire Department, but an unlucky Laguna Beach police car already had arrived at the scene.

“Evidently the officer drove up there to see what was going on. Then he came back down the hill to park and while he was parking his car, the whole side of the cliff, I guess, exploded, gave way and timing-wise, he almost lost the car,” Sedgwick said.

“Then the water was really coming down the street. When the hill went, you could no longer hear it (the water) coming down the street. It just went straight down the canyon.

“The miracle was that there was no one in its path,” Sedgwick said. “It picked one of the few vacant lots to happen on.”

Lardie said police have no idea what caused the water main to burst. There are no homes along the closed stretch of road, he said, although there was concern Sunday that a nearby home would lose its driveway.

“Sewer lines were not affected,” Lardie said. “We do have some exposed gas and electrical lines, but neither of those was damaged.”

The main concern for police now is access to Laguna’s isolated Arch Beach Heights, an area with 400 to 500 homes. With Summit Drive out of operation, residents are advised to drive to and from their homes via Alta Vista Way and Nyes Place, Lardie said.