OJAI : Agreement Reached to Clear Rubble Off Road

After months of intergovernmental wrangling, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Transportation have worked out a plan to begin removing hundreds of tons of rocks and rubble that have blocked a stretch of California 33 north of Ojai for nearly three months, officials said Wednesday.

Caltrans plans to hire a contractor soon to clear the road so it can be reopened by mid-summer, officials said. A winding, six-mile section of California 33, about 25 miles north of Ojai, has been closed since Feb. 19 when heavy rains sent huge rocks tumbling to the roadway below.

As part of an agreement between the Forest Service and Caltrans, the debris will be placed on a privately owned ranch about two miles from the road closure, representatives from the agencies said.

The agencies had been haggling for several weeks about where to put the debris once the road is cleared, said Earl Clayton, public affairs officer with the Forest Service.