Landslide threat halts train service between Los Angeles and San Diego
The threat of additional atmospheric river events could produce heavy rainfall from the Pacific Northwest through the Golden State during the upcoming workweek. San Clemente has been the scene of several landslides over the past year that have forced evacuations and halted traffic.
Series of Atmospheric Rivers take aim at the Pacific Coast
A very wet pattern is taking shape along the Pacific Coast as several atmospheric rivers are forecast to hit the Pacific Northwest and California, prompting worries of flooding, landslides, wind damage and heavy surf.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – Train service in southern Orange County has been suspended after officials said they spotted parts of a hillside that had given way.
Train operators believe parts of the San Clemente hillside significantly eroded on Wednesday and pushed boulders and debris onto tracks that are just feet away from the Pacific Ocean.
The event caused both Metrolink, a commuter rail operator, and Amtrak to announce the suspension of train service between Orange County and San Diego.
The region has been the recipient of recent heavy rainfall, which has previously played a role in slides along unstable hillsides.
![Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley]()
Image 1 of 3Metrolink and Amtrak train service between Orange and San Diego counties has been suspended after debris from a hillside gave way and fell onto track in San Clemente (Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley)
![Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley]()
Image 2 of 3Metrolink and Amtrak train service between Orange and San Diego counties has been suspended after debris from a hillside gave way and fell onto track in San Clemente ( )
![Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley]()
Image 3 of 3Metrolink and Amtrak train service between Orange and San Diego counties has been suspended after debris from a hillside gave way and fell onto track in San Clemente (Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley)
THESE 7 STATES HOLD THE MOST LANDSLIDE-PRONE COUNTIES IN THE US
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said the event was not the first time rail lines have been shut down due to the threat from shifting soil.
"With less than one month into the new year, the railroad tracks in South County are already closed due to a new land movement in San Clemente. Decades of climate change denial leaves Orange County behind in a race between us & Mother Earth," Foley stated.
A landslide that damaged or destroyed more than a dozen homes in July 2023 in Los Angeles County was blamed on an unusually wet winter pattern and changes in the terrain and vegetation.
California homes collapse into a canyon during a landslide
A local emergency has been declared in Rolling Hills Estates, California, after a landslide swallowed homes.
Authorities have not ordered any widespread evacuations, but video from the scene showed several structures sitting precariously close to the edge of the unstable slope.
The FOX Forecast Center expects another round of heavy rainfall to impact parts of the Golden and Pacific Northwest during the upcoming workweek, which could produce additional threats of mudslides and landslides.
The heavy rainfall is associated with an atmospheric river event that could cause valley flooding, high winds and heavy mountain snow.
(FOX Weather)
SUNSHINE STATE’S FASTEST TRAIN WILL SOON CONNECT ORLANDO TO SOUTH FLORIDA
While cleanup and repair work has already begun, it is unclear when train service will be restored, especially with a weather pattern change on the way.
Amtrak employed the use of buses to replace its Pacific Surfliner train service until it's given the clearance that operations between Irvine and Oceanside can continue.