The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 99

FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1996 A21 LOS ANGELES TIMES 77 SLIDE: No More Victims Expected r- Direction I ofslidej It 'A rtr.v at Yosemite Yosemite Valley's dramatic scenery is sculpted by powerful geological forces. The latest reworking occurred Wednesday night when a rock shelf gave way and plunged 2,400 feet to the valley floor. Rockslides are common in Yosemite and surrounding areas. Here is a representation of how the slide happened. 'NT 1 7nniY Continued from Al Huntington Beach were jogging about half a mile from the avalanche site when a prolonged, deep 1 rumble, like "distant thunder," shook the ground.

When a curtain of thick gray dust settled, they were stunned by the destruction and quickly began searching for victims. "We used water to wet our shirts and we put them over our mouths so we could breathe air that was LAsM Jff Ahnnt 1fY) million 7, Detail 1 area I i vv Carved mt0 a cliff, an ly overhanging arch, more than feet wide and 50 feet high, breaks between Glacier and Washburn wi Tne falling rock at least 25,000 tons of it, Dy one estimate is pulverized on the down as it crashes against cliff. A mi cm blast of "We don't have anybody who's asking for someone. We don't believe there are any more victims." The one known fatality was Emiliano Morales, 20, of Monte-bello, who was pinned beneath a tree at an ice cream stand in the Happy Isles area. His body was recovered late Wednesday night, shortly before rescue workers called off their search for the night because of darkness and falling rock.

Two people from Whittier who were with friends celebrating their graduation from Pioneer High School were the most seriously injured. Hisano Hamada, 18, was in critical condition at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto with a broken arm and leg and neck injuries. Kelly Booth, 17, who was injured by a falling tree, was in fair condition at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto after surgery to repair cuts. About a dozen other hikers and campers, most of them suffering from dust inhalation, were treated at the Yosemite Medical Clinic and released during the night. The sudden rockslide was a spectacular example of what geologists call exfoliation, the shifts and collapse of rock that have reshaped this place through the ages.

Like the seasonal floods and fires, rock-slides are a reminder that Yosemite may be one of the wonders of the world, but it is not hazard-free. In 1980, three hikers were killed by falling rock near Yosemite Falls. Rockslides often occur in early spring or fall when snow is either melting or accumulating, but can happen any time and anywhere. "There's no way of predicting them," said Connie Rothell, a Mariposa school secretary who lives at Yosemite with her husband, a park ranger. "It's part of the natural cycle.

It's part of the history of Yosemite Valley." As search crews picked through the shattered rock and splintered forest Thursday with the help of dogs and fiber-optic equipment, park rangers said it could have been much worse. The piece of granite, estimated to be more than 200 feet wide, created such a blast of wind as it fell that it leveled hundreds of pine trees arid left a thick blanket of dust. One park official who observed the scene from the air said the damage reminded him of Mount St. Helens after it blew its top. Another said it looked like a test site for a new kind of bomb.

Luckily, by the time it shook this valley with a magnificent roar, the clock read 6:46 p.m. Most hikers had left the trails, and a small nature museum and snack rocks, dust compressed continues to Vg Soikcm: Yosemite National Parts and David Howell, Geological Survey Researetied by DAVID FERREU. and V1CKV McCAHGAR Los Angeles Times shop at Happy Isles had closed for the night. The affected section of the valley is at the head of the John Muir Trail and the trail to Vernal and Nevada falls. The area is closed to vehicles except for park shuttle buses, another factor that probably limited casualties.

"I've been watching rock falls and slides up here for almost three decades, and we're very fortunate that it happened when it did," said Jim Snyder, a park service histo down the and onto th" floor, km 1 Jug hundreds of trees a path extending a quarter-mile or more the base of thcliff. Grizzly Peak GREG HESTER, KEN OELERICH Loe Angeles Times steep slopes, he said. "But it's the size of this thing that's unusual." Visitors who were caught near Happy Isles when the granite arch roared down the mountain said it was the most frightening moment in their lives. "It looked like a tornado," said John Lydon of Torrance, describing the dust cloud hundreds of feet high that blotted out the sun. "You could see it coming toward you.

I didn't know if it was the end of my life." Union Station fa Metro Blue Line I Osr I Westlake 1 1 Chic i 1 MacArthur Center MIL Park Metro fMfV Center 'y. L. JL: Pershing -v Square Hisano Hamada is in critical condition with numerous injuries. Photos by Associated Press Kelly Booth, 18, is in fair condition after undergoing surgery. somewhat clean and we made our way down," Nadel said.

"It was a bizarre thing to see. Another 10 minutes and we could have been right in the middle of it." Work crews in surgical masks scoured the dusty rubble Thursday but did not expect to find anyone trapped. "Everyone has been accounted for," said Scott Gediman, a spokesman for the park service. LOREN A IN1GUEZ, "That arch of rock has water running beneath it, and water reduces the friction that helps hold it in place," he said. "You tend to see these rockslides in wet years." Robert Merrill, a geology professor at Fresno State, said a number of rockslides have occurred in the Yosemite area over the past 20 years, but he could not remember one that was as big or as dramatic.

"This shifting and falling is a natural reshaping of the landscape in areas where you have extremely years ago, a chain of vuilcmucd luiua ucu icuiu into irregular peaks. Some molten rock never reaches the surface, forming bubbles, or plutons, that harden into granite. a Aimr iha novt OA million years, erosion of the surrounding soil and rock exposes the granite. It rises and tilts with stretching and thrusting of the Earth's crust the During the ice age 2 million years ago, glaciers carve sheer cliffs through the granite. Water soaking into cracks in the granite continually freezes and thaws, weakening exposed layers until they crack and peel like layers of an onion.

The process, called exfoliation, is usually on a small scale, and the peeling creates picturesque arches and spires on the cliff faces. rian. "If it had been 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I don't think we ever want to see that at Happy Isles. It gets pretty crowded." Yosemite is known for its dramatic topography, especially its deep glacier-carved valley, really a canyon with walls of granite. Snyder theorized that the recent wet winters may have contributed to the wearing away of the granite slab high above Happy Isles.

years ahead, the inconvenience of tunneling will seem insignificant once new customers and businesses are attracted to the area because of easier and faster mass transit. Ratkovich said he can't afford to wait. "It doesn't make any sense to go around ruining parts of the city so you can take credit for saving them 20 to 30 years down the line," he said. Architect Gary Russell agrees that "there's no question we went through hell." But Russell welcomes the subway and improvements like the planting of 500 trees on Wilshire that will make the boulevard "a grand place again." Even though the neighborhood has fallen on hard times as have other areas struck by the recession but not by rail construction Wilshire Boulevard remains one of the nation's busiest public transit corridors. Nearly two-thirds of the new subway riders initially will be bus riders, forced underground by MTA plans to terminate some Wilshire bus lines at Western.

Wilshire Boulevard bus riders will be allowed to transfer to the subway for free. That prospect has upset some bus riders even if transit officials say the subway will be faster and more comfortable than the bus. Others, like bus rider Kathy Brown, are excited about the extension. "For me, it will definitely be an advantage," said Brown, who spends two hours commuting via Metrolink, subway and two buses from Moreno Valley to the Crenshaw District. The entire subway ride from Western to Union Station will take 13 minutes a 15-minute saving over the same trip by bus, MTA officials said.

Trains will travel about 10 mph faster up to 55 mph because of longer straightaways in the new tunnels. And the system will stay open later. Transit chief Joseph E. Drew said the MTA is not spending millions just to shift bus riders XT vw 200 off points. way small and air sweep slope valley down along from Future of Wilshire Area May Ride on Subway The Subway's New Leg The second leg of the Los Angeles subway opens Saturday, extending the 3.2-mile line by 2.1 miles through the Wilshire corridor with stations on Wilshire Boulevard at Vermont, Normandie and Western avenues.

6V Wllshlre1 A Western OLYMPIC BLVD. Wilshire Vermont Wilshire Normandie mmmm Existing Metro Red Une KMmm Opening Saturday lim 4 mm RICK MEYER Los Angeles Times Worker cleans passenger platform at Western Avenue subway station, scheduled to open Saturday as part of 2.1 -mile rail extension. Fare: Now a quarter, rides are free this weekend. But the fare goes up Monday to $1.35 one way, or 90 cents with a token or pass. Bus and train connections: Wilshire Boulevard bus passengers may transfer to the subway for free from lines 20, 21, 22, 320, 322, 426 and 497.

Beginning Monday, Wilshire line 426 will end at Western and 497 will end at Westlake Avenue. Starting Sept. 15, Wilshire lines 320 and 322 will end at Western. Other MTA bus riders may transfer to the subway for 25 cents. Commuters arriving by Metrolink may transfer to the subway and Wilshire bus lines for free.

Westbound subway riders may, with their ticket stub, hop on a Wilshire Boulevard bus at no charge. Hours of operation: Trains will run every five minutes during rush hours, 6 to 9 a.m. and 3:15 to 6:25 p.m. They will run every eight minutes in the middle of the day, every 20 minutes from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. and every 12 minutes before 6 a.m.

weekdays. Trains will not operate between 11:43 p.m. and 4:45 a.m. Weekend trains are less frequent. Transit: Line opening Saturday is hailed as a boon.

But anger over Metro Rail construction's impact lingers. By RICHARD SIMON and JON D. MARKMAN TIMES STAFF WRITERS LOS ANGELES-The Los Angeles subway, panned by some as a 3.2-mile pastrami express because it ends at a deli, becomes more like a real urban transit system with the opening Saturday of a 2.1-mile extension from downtown to the Wilshire corridor. After spending $578 million over five years, transit officials are cheering an important milestone in the West's largest public works project. MTA officials will dedicate the extension today and open it to the public Saturday for a weekend of free rides.

But some riders and Wilshire property owners aren't joining the celebration. Passengers will no longer be able to ride for a quarter. Monday, the fare is jumping to $1.35. And some major Wilshire Boulevard landlords complain that dozens of insurance companies, advertising agencies and law firms that once made the area a thriving regional center fled the noise, dust and detours of Metro Rail construction. High-rises, nearly 90 occupied when tunneling began in 1991, are now less than 70 full, according to commercial real estate industry mates.

Still, when the first train rolls out of the artsy station 60 feet beneath Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue at 4:43 a.m. Saturday, transit officials will enjoy a happy break from the turmoil that has surrounded the crown jewel of the city's transportation system. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials predict that rid- nomic prospects. At $289 million per mile, the Los Angeles Red Line is among the most expensive subways in the world. Even some people who should have the most to gain are wringing their hands: Retailers and restaurateurs wonder whether riders will pay $1.35 to take a subway that goes not quite 5V miles.

"Nobody's going to spend $2.70 to come here and eat," lamented Al Langer, 83, the owner of Langer's Delicatessen, an Alvarado Street restaurant at the current end of the line. Langer said the opening of the downtown subway three years ago rescued his business. Now, Wayne Ratkovich's Wil-tern Theater will anchor the end of the line. But he's not any happier than Langer. He believes that subway construction delivered a "mortal blow" to an area already struggling to recover from the sharp downturn in the real estate market in 1991.

the riots in 1992 and the Northridge earthquake in 1994. MTA officials assert that in the ership will double to more than 40,000 passengers a day, even with the higher fare. The subway, which currently runs between Union Station and MacArthur Park, will now stretch to Wilshire with stops at Vermont, Normandie and Western avenues. The station at Wilshire and Vermont will be unlike any of the other stations. Passengers will ride the longest escalator west of the Mississippi into the deepest station, 120 feet below the street, and see whimsical artwork, such as a tiny unicyclist rolling on a tightrope.

The extension has come at a high price. Its tunnels and stations came in at 18, or $45 million, over budget, according to federal transit authorities' math. The MTA says the project came in under its budget, which included funds to cover an expected 10 cost overrun. And 17 Wilshire property and business owners have sued the MTA for an estimated $50 million to $75 million over damage they say subway construction caused to their buildings and future eco Los Angeles Times system and the Los Angeles-to-Long Beach Blue Line trolley. Both connect to the subway.

Because of these connections, the MTA hopes to attract more riders. But officials acknowledge that the subway fare hike will cost them some riders, primarily downtown workers who take advantage of the 50-cent round trip fare to sample lunch spots along the route. "I won't be on it" when the fare goes up, said Jimmy Stewart, a downtown worker who rides the subway every day to the Citicorp Plaza for lunch. Please see SUBWAY, A22 underground. "Remember, we're building for the future," he said in what has become an unofficial motto for the rail project.

The subway is supposed to reach Hollywood in late 1998, the San Fernando Valley in 2000, and the Eastside in 2003. "L.A. right now has a serious congestion management problem," Drew said. "I can't imagine traffic) 10 or 15 years from now if all you had was more buses." The additional 2.1 miles of subway will expand the reach of the region's evolving rail network, which includes the 404-mile Metrolink train.