Portion of PCH to be closed for 3 to 4 weeks due to storm damage

A portion of Pacific Coast Highway will be closed for three to four weeks after more than a dozen mud and rock slides from last week’s storm overwhelmed the roadway.

In some places, mud, trees and rocks as high as 4 feet covered the scenic route between Yerba Buena and Las Posas roads in Ventura County.

The cleanup and damage from one of the most powerful storms to hit California in several mostly dry years was so extensive it has forced officials to shut the famous highway for repairs, said Patrick Chandler, spokesman of the California Department of Transportation.

“It’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he said.

Most devastated were sections of the highway in the area of the 2013 Spring fire, which left hillsides weak and vulnerable to rain. As a result, officials say, 12 to 15 mud and debris flows came down on the roadway.

Camarillo Springs residents saw similar destruction early Friday after scorched and fragile hillsides buckled under the pressure of a downpour, sending rocks and mud into some homes.

Along the highway, mudslides pushed k-rails, which each weigh 20,000 pounds, 70 feet across the highway and toward the coast.

At least seven people in their cars were trapped Friday on the highway by mudslides.

Caltrans has hired a contractor to repair the damage, including to the slope along the highway designed to support and keep the highway from collapsing.

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