Landslide closes popular Southern California beach

A popular and heavily trafficked beach in Laguna Beach was closed Friday morning after the cliffside that overlooks it gave way and slid onto the sand below.

The landslide happened around 7:15 a.m. at 9th Street Beach, otherwise known as Thousand Steps Beach. The beach is known for its winding staircases built into the cliffside, which allow beachgoers to access the sand and surf.

Video from Sky5 showed that parts of that staircase have since fallen to the beach below.

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Laguna Beach city officials said the beach would remain closed for an undetermined amount of time, and the case of the slide is under investigation.

It is not uncommon for cliffs located directly next to the Pacific Ocean to erode and collapse.

The rate at which the ocean reclaims the adjacent land varies across the state, but experts warn the process is being accelerated by the state’s extreme climate conditions, including years of prolonged drought and wildfires followed by large storm systems.

City officials said a geologist would be assessing the bluff but said there was no current threat to additional homes or neighborhoods.

This past weekend, the year’s first winter storm brought between .5 to 1 inch of rain to parts of Orange County.

A second winter storm is expected to make landfall early next week but is likely to bring the most precipitation to the Central Coast and possibly reach Ventura and Los Angeles counties late Tuesday into Wednesday.

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