A landslide closed state Route 36, in Humboldt County, Calif., on May 31, 2025, and resulted in the death of an employee of a Caltrans contractor.
© Caltrans District 1A landslide closed state Route 36, in Humboldt County, Calif., on May 31, 2025, and resulted in the death of an employee of a Caltrans contractor.
A contractor's employee doing work on a Caltrans emergency project was killed early Saturday morning during an active landslide along state Route 36 in Humboldt County, officials confirmed.

The death, first reported by local news outlet Redheaded Blackbelt, occurred around 5 a.m. east of Swimmer's Delight, according to a statement provided to SFGATE by Manny Machado, spokesperson for Caltrans District 1. The worker's identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances of the death, Machado said.

Caltrans announced a full closure of Route 36 in the affected area, with no estimated time of reopening. "Route 36 is FULLY CLOSED east of Swimmer's Delight ... due to an active slide," Caltrans District 1 posted on social media at 7:56 a.m.

Machado confirmed that slide activity has affected Route 36 for several months, and Caltrans has been working to stabilize the slope and keep the road open.

Route 36 is a winding mountain highway, about 225 miles north of San Francisco. It splits from U.S. Highway 101 in Alton, just south of Fortuna in Humboldt County, and heads east through the county's rugged interior.

The route follows the Van Duzen River through the forested communities of Carlotta, Bridgeville, and Dinsmore before climbing into the Trinity National Forest. From there, it continues across five additional counties, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, Plumas and Lassen, connecting remote mountain towns across the northern tier of the state.