Another Landslide Closes PCH in Dana Point

December downpours are still causing problems for motorists in Dana Point, and clearing the debris is taking longer than expected along Pacific Coast Highway.

Another landslide shut down a section of Pacific Coast Highway through the community Tuesday. Dana Point public works director Brad Fowler said the December downpours saturated the hillside and it gave way as the soil contracts during the current drying-out period.

Soil is covering a 150-foot stretch of the northbound lanes of PCH between Palisades Drive and Camino Capistrano, the same area closed by a slide last month. The section of road is in the Capistrano Beach area of Dana Point.

Fowler told the Orange County Register that both sides of the highway will remain closed during cleanup. Fowler said dirt keeps sloughing off the hillside and northbound lanes won't reopen until Thursday evening.