Dams Cleaned; Road in Laguna Reopens

Work crews toiled into the evening Sunday, cleaning up erosion control dams that successfully staunched possible mudslides from Saturday’s winter storm.

City workers were able by 7 a.m. to reopen the city’s key access route, Laguna Canyon Road, parts of which were closed Saturday when two feet of muddy water swept across the road at Gunderson Drive. The crews spent the rest of the day in the Canyon Acres area clearing debris and mud-covered straw from the erosion control dams, said Laguna Beach Fire Department spokesman Patrick Brennan.

City and county officials have worked feverishly since the Oct. 27 fires that destroyed hundreds of homes in Laguna Beach and Anaheim Hills to stabilize hillsides left barren and vulnerable to rain-caused mudslides. The planning paid off Saturday in the wake of the heavy and brief storm, which brought up to half an inch of rain but caused little property damage.

“We fared, as expected, pretty well due to the fact that we only have a half-inch of rain,” Brennan said. “But there is still more work to do to get ready for future rains. . . . Right now, though, we’re cautiously optimistic because things look pretty good today.”

City work crews will work with the Marine Corps Tuesday to airlift more erosion control supplies, such as hay bales and sandbags, into mudslide-prone areas.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Brennan said. “We’ve been lucky so far, but it could have been a different story if there had been more than a half-inch of rain.”