Shocking moment Malibu cop narrowly avoids being crushed by massive rockfall down the side of a mountain – while inspecting boulder in the middle of the road
- A cop responding to a landslide was almost struck by a second wave of debris
- The heap of boulders and soil caused the Malibu road to be closed overnight
- National Weather Service in Los Angeles said the rockslide was one of many
This is the moment a motorcycle cop in Malibu hastily retreats from the site of a rockfall as another mass of dirt and boulders comes tumbling down the face.
It is one of a number of such incidents in the area in recent days as rain and snow has loosened soil.
The rockslide happened on a two-lane road that passes through a canyon in southern California at around 2.30pm on Wednesday.
The event was captured on video by a journalist for the Malibu Times who had been preparing to speak with California Highway Patrol officers about an initial boulder that had blocked a single lane of traffic.
After the second cascade of rocks both lanes were closed for 12 hours as officials cleared the way.
A motorcycle cop in Malibu had to hastily retreat from the site of a rockfall as another mass of dirt and boulders comes tumbling down the face
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles responded to the video and said it was just one of a number of rockslides reported in the area
The video showed the officer’s motorcycle parked at the side of the canyon road as he approached the boulder behind which a small line of cars were backed up.
After one small boulder tumbles down the rest of the rockslide ensues and the cop is forced to jog back towards both the camera and his bike.
On Thursday morning at 7am all lanes of Malibu Canyon Road were opened but users were asked to proceed with caution.
California Highway Patrol announced on Wednesday that another rockslide on Highway 178 had caused a road closure.
The rockslide occurred moments after officials were responding to a large boulder in the road
The road was similarly closed in both directions.
California has been bombarded with unusual amounts of rain and snow in recent weeks. The National Weather Service on Friday predicted ‘two more rounds of heavy snow’ were expected over the weekend.
By Sunday there had been 4.5 inches of rainfall in downtown LA, 6.6 in Beverly Hills and 8.8 in Pasadena. In Mount Wilson and Mountain High there had been 40 and 93 inches of snow respectively.
In Southern California flash flooding prompted the National Weather Service in San Diego to issue its first-ever blizzard warning for the San Bernardino County mountains.
