Giant boulder crashes down on roadway in Topanga area

(FOX 11) - A giant boulder came tumbling down the unstable hillside along Topanga Canyon Road on Sunday evening.

It came to rest in the southbound lane. There was also a mudslide that blocked part of the northbound lane causing Caltrans to shut down Topanga Canyon Road, a main artery connecting Malibu to the 101 Freeway.

Susan Clark was driving on Highway 27 right after the boulder fell. She has lived in Topanga for more than two decades. Her initial reaction to the closure was positive.

"What went through my mind this time was, 'Yay, we're gonna have no traffic,'" said Clark.

Other longtime residents shared that sentiment.

"We like it because it means no commuter traffic. It's actually kind of nice as long as nobody gets hurt," said Topanga resident Melissa Flynn.

Luckily, no one did get hurt. There were several slides along the Malibu and Pacific Coast Highway corridor. Malibu Canyon was also shut down by a slide and reopened around 2 p.m. Monday.

On Twitter, Caltrans estimated that Topanga Canyon would remain closed until Thursday. An ongoing closure in the canyon community can make life tricky.

At Canyon Gourmet, some food delivery trucks couldn't get through.

"We've had orders that have needed to come through and they can't get through at all, so the shelves are getting a little empty for sure," said store clerk Shannon Estabrook.

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