Fore! 18th Hole Slides Away
A massive landslide that took away the 18th hole of a new oceanside golf course also forced the closure of seven miles of beach.
In a close call, an employee of the unopened, $80 million Ocean Trails development was caught in the slide Wednesday but suffered no injuries. Firefighters airlifted him to safety from a grass island within the slide area.
The person "just kind of rode the slide down," said Fire Inspector Dennis Cross.
The slide took an area about 600 feet long and 220 feet wide, including fairway and green, said Michael Hoye, a spokesman for the Ocean Trails development.
"It was virtually the 18th hole," he said.
Correspondent Jason Carroll of CBS Station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles reports all the workers made it out on their own - with a few stories to tell.
Witnesses said the ground made no sound as it slid apart. One described it as being in elevator that suddenly dropped 150 feet.
The slide exposed massive cracks, several hundred feet long, in the course.
The slide also caused a 27-inch sewer main to break and spew thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the beach and the water below. Officials from the Department of Health Services closed the beach from Point Vicente on the west to Cabrillo Beach on the east.
It will remain closed until bacteria levels in the water drop enough to meet state standards.
Ocean Trails, the centerpiece of a development including 75 custom home sites, was scheduled to open July 16. The project also includes park areas and trails.
The landslide followed an unusual storm that had moved into Southern California the night before, but it was not immediately known whether rain runoff was involved.
City Planning Director Joel Rojas said that the slide closely follows a map line designating an ancient landslide.
The area that fell was chosen for the golf course rather than home sites because of its history, Rojas said. "When the project was approved it was known it was an unstable area," he said.
A clubhouse under construction was not affected by the slide.