Sea Level Drive erosion forces evacuation of 31 Malibu homes Play

Helicopters Wednesday morning show no additional damage visible from above at La Chusa Beach. Overnight, dozens of truckloads of cement were pumped under the gaping hole in the road and a row of beachfront houses, as workers tried to stabilize the eroding cliff beneath homes in western Malibu.

It is not clear whether the concrete did any good. Reporters are being kept far away from the site by protective City of Malibu workers.

A 6.1-foot high tide is predicted for 9:16 a.m. Wednesday. The major high tide — the big one — is at 7.4 feet at 8:46 p.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service says actual tide measurements are coming in about a foot higher than what is predicted in the tide tables. El Niño is pushing water up against the North American continent.

In Malibu Tuesday night, that resulted in a state of emergency declared by the city manager. Assistant Community Development Director Tyler Eaton spoke at the Planning Commission meeting: "The city manager has just issued an emergency proclamation for the East Sea Level Drive properties. 31 parcels are under mandatory evacuation, the majority of which are only due because of access issues."

That access road, East Sea Level Drive, is the problem. It is the only way in and out for the seven houses directly on the ocean sand, plus another 19 houses on the uphill side of the road. An additional dozen or so houses further up the hill were also ordered evacuated Tuesday.

Tyler Eaton told the Planning Commission the situation is still fluid. "More information will be upcoming in the next few days as things unwind over there. The city's been out there all day. CDD has been on site along with other city staff, coordinating with the Fire Department, the Sheriff, Water District and Gas Company."

The erosion started to cause alarm late Sunday and Monday morning. The sinkhole by Tuesday grew to 30 feet deep, with a 60-foot section of bluff collapsing or washing away back 30 feet from where it used to be.

A total of 31 houses are in the evacuation area. 29 of those houses were actually vacated, the Sheriff told KBUU. Two families elected not to leave. 24 of those houses have been evacuated only due to the loss of safe vehicle access, the city said Tuesday night. The intact portion of roadway is too narrow to accommodate emergency response vehicles including fire trucks.

Eight houses have been red-tagged, barred from entry. The city says there is substantial risk to public safety in the area. The Sheriff had the area tightly secured to prevent any possible looting. A Red Cross evacuation center with cots was set up Tuesday night at the Malibu High School gym; no one used it.

The extent of the damage on Sea Level Drive shocked residents interviewed by L.A. TV stations. Celeste Grundman told ABC 7: "It was unbelievable. You see the pictures on the news, but when you see it in person, it's shocking. Rebar that holds up the actual road was falling down, so it scared me."

Katie Russell told KTLA 5: "Tides have been so high and the waves have been so strong, but you would not expect this. Really shocking to me. I would have never expected this. I wouldn't have tied the two together. I think this may be a pretty dramatic event. I think Malibu can't catch a break right now. It's not fair."

And a man named Kevin told Fox 11: "They want us to evacuate for a reason, so I have a feeling they know more than I do. I'm not a geologist or an oceanographer. I'm just a volleyball coach. You could just walk down and look at it, and it was startling."

There is a 20-foot-long crack where Sea Level Drive has been damaged. As of Wednesday morning, helicopter video shows the situation looks about like it did Tuesday, but reporters are being denied access to the public beach and to the public accessway that leads down to the beach.

For years, seven houses have sat on stilts above the high tide line, sticking out above the beach. Coastal Commission actions more than 40 years ago prevented an entire row of houses from extending all the way to the west. The entire oceanfront of the subdivision became public property under a deal with developers. East Sea Level Drive itself was never built as anticipated to connect over to West Sea Level Drive.

The subdivision that was mapped out decades ago is mostly underwater today on the ocean side, but nine houses did go in. On the land side, another 21 houses were built on the inland side of the street, further up the bluff. Those houses do not appear to be in any peril from the ocean right now, but they do rely on East Sea Level Drive to get in and out — and there is a big hole right now under that street.

One of the nine oceanfront houses that is in danger went before the City Planning Commission earlier this summer to get emergency permits for slope repair underneath. City Planning Commissioners were told Tuesday night the house was saved and is okay, but there still remains that giant hole next door.