Landslide dumps dirt 150 feet in San Clemente, debris came down near tidepools in Dana Point

Some residents in the Presidio-Columbo neighborhood of San Clemente were a bit concerned Friday when part of a cul-de-sac on Avenida Columbo dropped about five feet and sent mud and debris at least 150 feet below.

The area – where two homes were already affected by unstable soil – is an active landslide on private property that has had ongoing movement for several decades, said Dave Rebensdorf, the city’s assistant engineer who went out Friday to check on it.

“Unfortunately, the recent movement has furthered damaged the end of the city’s Columbo cul-de-sac,” he said. “City crews have installed sandbags to route drainage from the cul-de-sac to an existing storm drain.”

Dave Peterson, who lives on Columbo but not on the failing end, went there to see the damage for himself.

“It’s not yet impacting houses, but there are houses to the left and right that are close to the slide,” he said. “I’m concerned about those.”

Councilmember Steve Knoblock also visited.  He is familiar with the area and said, a few years ago, the city had to red-tag a house that was later condemned and bulldozed down the hillside because of the slope’s instability.

In Dana Point, some mud and debris slid from a cliff next to the Ocean Institute near the tidepools, said City Manager Mike Killebrew.

“There are no structures jeopardized at this point, and it looks like no impact on the lateral beach access,” he said.