ORANGE — The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) board has declared a seasonal emergency for the coastal rail line in San Clemente used by Metrolink commuter trains and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, as well as BNSF freight traffic.
The emergency declaration on Monday, Sept. 28, follows a Proclamation of a State of Emergency by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 21 for the entire state, recognizing anticipated extremes from the El Niño weather event and the approaching 2026-2027 wet season.
The governor’s proclamation notes the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) forecast has “projected a 69% chance that the [El Niño] event will reach historic strength during the October through December 2026 season, defined as a three-month Relative Oceanic Niño Index, and exceeding the strength of all prior El Niño events in the historical record beginning in 1950.”…