Laurel Canyon Remains Closed For Second Day After Mudslide

A roughly half-mile-long section of Laurel Canyon Boulevard remained closed Thursday morning, cutting off a major artery between West Hollywood and the Valley. Laurel Canyon Boulevard between Gould Avenue and Kirkwood Drive was first closed around noon on Wednesday after the concrete foundation of a home on Gould was destabilized by the rain, leading officials to fear it might tumble down onto the busy street below.

Authorities were right to have closed the street: at 2:30 p.m., "the slab with sewer pipes suddenly slid down to the edge of the roadway, fracturing into pieces, some of which landed in the southbound traffic lane," according to NBC 4. The concrete slab, which, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department press release, is estimated to weigh approximately 9,000 pounds, was part of the foundation and retaining wall of the home in question.

“Obviously the fire department made the right call and avoided tragedy today by closing off Laurel Canyon,” LAFD spokesman David Ortiz told the Daily News yesterday.

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The home in question had already been evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Dava Lara, a spokesman for the Department of Building and Safety, told LAist that his department had red-tagged the house, and yellow-tagged two adjacent homes as a precaution.

Lara said that Building and Safety had dispatched a team of engineers and inspectors to do an assessment at the scene "so we can determine what our next steps will be in terms of the amount of damage and lack of support in the building." Lara said that he wasn't sure when the assessment would be completed, but it could potentially be later today or early tomorrow.

"We're going to err on the side of precaution and keep the road closed until we can get that assessment," he said.