March 31, 2011 – GARBERVILLE — A major artery through southern Humboldt County was shut down Wednesday following a massive slide of mud and rocks, the California Highway Patrol said. Officials estimated that the stretch of Highway 101 could be closed for up to two weeks. Crews may be able to open the section to one-way, controlled traffic in two to three days. Tons of debris tumbled and slid onto the highway about 5 miles north of Garberville around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, causing the road to buckle under the weight, CHP Officer Len Johnson said. “The whole mountain came down and just took the 101 out,” Johnson said, describing the large cracks in the road. “It looked like an earthquake.” Southern Humboldt Unified School District officials decided to close three schools for the rest of the week over transportation and food delivery concerns, The Times-Standard of Eureka reported. The closure comes as Humboldt County supervisors were set to declare an emergency to deal with $2 million in damage to county roads.
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