Pacific Coast Highway remains closed after rain causes debris flows

The stretch of Pacific Coast Highway through Pacific Palisades and Malibu remained closed Friday after back-to-back storms triggered debris flows. Crews will be working in the closed portion today to assess when it’s safe to reopen the highway, according to Caltrans.

The backstory

Caltrans on Tuesday closed a roughly 9-mile section of PCH. It had reopened, briefly, following the Palisades Fire. The road closure goes from Will Rogers Beach State Park in L.A. to Carbon Beach in Malibu. Caltrans said in a statement that the iconic highway was closed “out of an abundance of caution” since the wildfire left the area vulnerable to debris flows.

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How bad were the rainstorms?

Crews cleared 10 truckloads of debris after the rainstorm caused a slide north of Big Rock Drive in Malibu on Thursday night, according to Caltrans. The storm dropped more than 2.5 inches of rain in the area over the last five days, according to the National Weather Service.

There were additional “smaller slides” throughout the week along the closed portion of PCH, Caltrans spokesperson Marc Bischoff said.

Maintenance crews are patrolling PCH within the closure 24/7 and responding to issues immediately, Bischoff said.

When will PCH reopen?

Bischoff said Caltrans didn’t have an estimate for when this stretch of PCH will reopen.

“Employees with our Geotechnical Division will be out in the field today examining the area within the closure to determine if and when we should reopen,” Bischoff said.