Rancho Palos Verdes: 3 Years After Landslide

0:00It's April 20th. This is California News Today, powered by AI. Three years after heavy rains kicked off a monster landslide in Rancho Palos Verde's the place looks nothing like it used to. Homes got torn up and banished, leaving big, empty patches, while the city's pushing everything it has to try stopping the slide, nearly breaking the. Bank in the process. That beloved seaside trail network got hit hard too, ripped open by massive cracks. Back in 2022 and 2023, above average rainfall sped things up crazy fast. Some spots moving a whole foot per week. Utilities got shut off for hundreds of folks by Southern California Edison, and so cow gas. Now 20 foot deep chasm stretched across 12 feet wide, making the green hills a fractured mess with ocean views turn hazardous. City manager Aura Miranian says they barely go in there anymore, using drones to check damage since trails are blocked by fishers. You can't even cross, without risking a bad fall.

1:01The financial hit is brutal, nearly $65 million spent since October 2022 on this emergency, way more than their 40. Million dollar annual budget. Lost parking fees at parks draw from hundreds of thousands to just thousands, and residents can't sell homes, leaning on buy-back programs. Wild lives taken to mixed bag, threatened birds, like the California nat catcher and Palos Verdes, blue butterfly, lost some habitat to split sage scrub. But less foot traffic might help them fly around cracks. The land conservancy's salvaging cacti, collecting seeds for restoration, and working around mitigation to save what they can, though full damage. Checks are impossible because it's too unsafe. Meanwhile, hikers got options of plenty on the peninsula's open spaces, like the maize trail at Highrich Park, shared with horses or paths through. Malaga Cove and Ernie Halle Park. As the city eyes massive repair costs ahead, these alternatives keep the trails alive, while nature slowly reshapes itself.