Coastal residents of Rancho Palos Verdes can now add gas outages to the litany of headaches they have endured as a swath of their idyllic community steadily slides into the sea.
“Due to worsening ground movement,” SoCal Gas told Portguese Bend-area residents on Friday that natural gas service is expected to be lost Monday morning. “This dynamic situation requires us to take immediate action to protect public safety.”
The utility did not say what exactly changed to prompt the brief notice, which was issued Saturday.
The power cut will affect 135 homes.
So far, no gas leaks have been detected, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes said. In a message to residents in the community, the city said it was asking SoCal Gas to consider delaying shutting off power to at least some homes.
The shutoff notice did not provide details on how long it would take the gas company to move 600 feet of gas lines and install flexible connections and emergency shutoff valves. The utility said homeowners can remain in their homes but warned against connecting alternative gas supplies, including propane, to its metered lines.
Rancho Palos Verdes said it would begin conducting voluntary safety inspections.
The brief notice rankled some residents. It is just the latest repercussion of a recent acceleration in the pace at which the coastal mountain range is sliding toward the sea, creating a new shoreline while foundations crack, gas, sewer and water lines break and utility poles lean. Some structures have been declared unsafe, including the popular Wayfarers Chapel. Since October, the town has been under a local state of emergency.
While some sections of the landslide complex have struggled with slope movement for years, recent heavy winter rains expanded the extent of the slide and it now spans a little more than a square mile. That pace of growth is expected to increase.
(Paul Duginski/Los Angeles Times)
