Landslide Halts RivCo To Orange County Rail Service Friday

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — Train service was unavailable from Riverside County to Orange County Friday due to a landslide that damaged a historical site in south Orange County Thursday, sending dirt and debris cascading down a hillside and toward coastal railroad tracks.

The service shut-down comes just a few weeks after a project to address the cliffside erosion and its impact on the train tracks in Orange County was completed.

RELATED: Train Service To Resume Through South OC After Shutdown

Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains on Friday will originate and end at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station, but will extend to San Juan Capistrano over the weekend, Metrolink said.

Metrolink service was abruptly shut down Thursday afternoon and remained unavailable Friday south of the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. The closure meant that there was no service available to San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente or Oceanside.

Metrolink officials said weekend trains on the Orange County Line will operate as far south of San Juan Capistrano, but there wouldn't be any alternate transportation offered, such as temporary bus service, to shuttle passengers farther south.

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, which uses the same tracks, suspended service between Irvine and San Diego due to the landslide, though Amtrak officials said some limited service would be available as far as San Juan Capistrano.

The landslide was reported at 1 p.m. Thursday, when the slope on the west-facing side of the Casa Romantica Cultural Center building dropped roughly 20 feet. The building was red-tagged while San Clemente's contracted geologist learns more about the stability of the hillside.

Along with Casa Romantica, four adjacent residential units were evacuated with red tags and another four with yellow tags, the City of San Clemente said in a Thursday night statement.

"The toe of the failure is about 30 feet from the bottom of the slope and is being constantly monitored," San Clemente City Manager Andy Hall said. "City staff is in communication with the property manager to make sure residents are assisted as needed."

RELATED: Landslide Behind South OC Historical Building Halts Train Service

The landslide comes nearly two weeks after officials at Casa Romantica first reported ground movement that caused some cracks on the property's patio facing the ocean.

The San Clemente City Council this week approved a $75,000 contract with a geologic contractor to study the ground movement and develop a plan for shoring up the hillside.

According to a city staff report, the ground slippage was first detected April 16 and reported to the city the following day, with the facility reporting impacts to its concrete terrace but no movement of the actual building.

City Councilman Victor Cabral told KCAL9 after Thursday's slide that only a few inches of ground movement had been occurring each day, but on Thursday, about 20 feet gave way, taking parts of the concrete terrace with it.

The slide occurred about two miles north of where the Orange County Transportation Authority is finishing up construction to shore up a hillside slope near the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association in San Clemente, officials said.

City News Service contributed to this report.