After San Clemente landslide, crews watching carefully as rain approaches

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (KABC) -- A San Clemente beach trail boardwalk at Mariposa Point is shut down until further notice due to a landslide.

Now with rain expected, officials are keeping a close eye on the situation. Natural erosion has been happening at the spot for the last couple of weeks, but Friday night a major chunk of the bluff came down with a heavy boulder at least eight feet wide.

"This was a game changer. This was different than before," said Tom Bonigut, Public Works Director for the city of San Clemente.

All the debris actually bent some of the bridge span and partially damaged one of the supports, which is why the city needs to keep it closed for now. At this point, the condos above are not in any danger because of how far they are from the edge.

But with the rain expected this week, crews are in a "wait-and-see" and react mode.

"It depends really how much we get and how hard it comes down," Bonigut said. "We are on a 24-7 watch. Metrolink has someone out here. We inspect it routinely."

While the Mariposa Point part of the boardwalk remains closed, a detour is in place to get around it. The Public Works department will have to replace part of the bridge span and since it's a challenging location, they say it could take some time for that. They urge residents here to have patience during this public safety issue.