City building fence around slow landslide

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A slow-moving landslide on a bluff in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles prompted the city to build a fence to protect the curious from debris.

Already, the landslide on the 100-foot coastal bluff has exposed deepening crevices along a roadway and plunked chunks of earth and concrete into the ocean, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

City workers broke ground Friday on the 8-foot chain-link fence meant to protect onlookers from the crumbling bluff. Before beginning work on the fence, they cleared the slide area of vulnerable infrastructure.

In a report, officials called the landslide "an immediate and life-threatening hazard" to those who enter the area. The Los Angeles Police Department has increased patrols to monitor the closed site for trespassers and vandals.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office said the city also plans to commission a geological study to determine the extent of the failure, identify weak and susceptible rock and test stability of surrounding land. Cracks began appearing in the spring.

"I don't think everybody understands how dangerous it is in here," said Hector Bordas, an engineer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, which has had contractors re-routing two storm drains from under the sinking roadway.