SOUTH COUNTY : Canyon Dwellers Facing Detour

Just as one lifeline was tossed to the area’s rain-besieged canyon communities, another has fallen away.

Although the Trabuco Bridge was reopened ahead of schedule on Saturday, attempts to restore traffic on washed-out El Toro Road north of Santa Margarita Parkway failed Sunday night.

Mission Viejo crews had laid asphalt along the sides of El Toro, but the ground was too saturated with water from rains and a broken pipe to hold firm, city officials said Monday.

City Engineer Loren Anderson said there was slim hope that the problem could be solved by tonight. “Otherwise it could be two or three days,” he said.

So while residents of South County’s canyons can now reach stores and services in Rancho Santa Margarita, those who drive the freeways north have to detour on winding Santiago Canyon Road to the city of Orange.

Other than the El Toro Road closure, canyon dwellers survived the weekend rains without any disasters. Some dealt with more severe problems created by the previous week’s storms.

Trabuco Canyon resident Gerry Albrecht woke up on a recent morning to find that a mudslide had covered 200 yards of access road leading to her house. It took three days before a bulldozer could clean up the mess.

“We get a few rocks falling down sometimes,” she said. “But I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Much of Live Oak Road was under water during last week’s storm, leaving erosion damage in several places. A section of Sycamore Drive collapsed into Hickey Creek, forcing residents to backtrack onto Trabuco Oaks Drive to get out of the neighborhood.

Other homeowners who live along Hickey Creek watched large chunks of their property being chewed up by the fast-flowing tributary.

“The severity of these storms took even 25-year residents by surprise,” said Trabuco Canyon homeowner Susie Wiberg. “They say it hasn’t been this bad since 1969.”