Residents of coastal Rancho Palos Verdes can now add the gas outages to the litany of headaches they have endured as part of their idyllic community gradually slides toward the sea.
“Due to worsening ground movements,” SoCal Gas told Portguese Bend area residents Friday that they should expect to lose natural gas service Monday morning. “This dynamic situation requires that we take immediate action to protect public safety.”
The utility did not specify what exactly had changed to prompt the short notice, which was issued Saturday.
The outage will affect 135 homes.
No gas leaks have been detected to date, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes said. In a message to community residents, the city said it is asking SoCal Gas to consider delaying the shutoff of power to at least some homes.
The outage notice did not provide details on how long it would take the gas company to relocate 600 feet of gas lines and install flexible connectors and emergency shutoff valves. The company said homeowners could remain on site but cautioned against connecting other gas sources, including propane, to their metered lines.
Rancho Palos Verdes said it would begin conducting voluntary safety inspections.
The short notice has angered some residents. It’s just the latest repercussion in a recent acceleration in the rate at which the coastal ridge is sliding toward the sea, creating new shorelines while cracking foundations, breaking gas, sewer and water lines and tilting utility poles. Some structures have been declared unsafe, including the famous Wayfarers Chapel. Since October, the town has been in a local state of emergency.
Although some sections of the landslide complex have been experiencing slope movements for years, recent heavy winter rains have extended the extent of the slide and it is now occurring over just over a square kilometre. This rate of growth is expected to accelerate.
(Paul Duginski/Los Angeles Times)
California Daily Newspapers
