Mudslide snarls Highway 17 traffic

A massive mudslide on Highway 17 in Scotts Valley had traffic backed up for miles Monday.

“It’s madness out here,” said driver Emily San Nicolas, a Santa Cruz resident. “I just hope it stops soon.”

The slide happened around 3 a.m. Monday north of Vine Hill Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Caught in the slide’s way were trees, power lines and an ABC 7 news truck out of the Bay Area.

It was headed north when the mudslide came down fast and pinned the truck up against the center divider, according to CHP.

A spokesperson for ABC/Disney said the driver had minor injuries, was taken to a hospital and was released.

“The party was able to be safely extricated with no major injuries reported,” said CHP officer Jeff Lutz. “Now the issue is the process of cleaning up.”

Cleaning up is no easy task. PG&E, Caltrans, AT&T, dump trucks, front loaders and bulldozers are all working to clean up the more than 750 cubic yard slide.

“We are just going to go piece by piece until we have it cleaned,” Lutz added. CHP closed the northbound side of the road, diverting all drivers into two lanes, one going north, the other going south.

This allowed crews room to clear the debris and take down trees that could be in danger of falling, according to Lutz.

“It’s crazy. I am afraid a tree is going to fall at any moment,” said San Nicolas. Other drivers weren’t surprised by the slide.

“We knew it was going to give way sooner or later,” said driver Jeff Bruton.

“When you see no retaining wall along this side, it’s only a matter of time when you get two or three days of downpours.”

Crews are going to be working all night Monday and into the morning Tuesday, according to CHP.