*Update: PCH partially re-opened at about 3 p.m., according to Malibu Patch. Traffic still as hellish as you would imagine on a warm weekend afternoon.

(Photo shot at 5:45 p.m. Oy.)*

Expect gridlock if you're headed to the beach here today thanks to a power pole near Latigo Canyon Road that keeled over for no apparent reason. PCH has been closed in both directions since 8 a.m. and will stay that way for either four hours or all day, depending on who you're listening to.

From City News Service, via Westside Today:

Traffic in Malibu reached an absolute standstill today, as a power pole cracked and began to fall over on Pacific Coast Highway at Latigo Beach.

The pole simply failed, there was no crash or other apparent outside factor, said a sheriff's deputy at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. The road closure was ordered just after 8 a.m. today.

Firefighters said PCH was likely to remain closed all day. Westbound traffic was being turned around at John Tyler Drive, eastbound traffic was getting the same order at Latigo Canyon Road.

The closest detour around the four-mile closure was a mountainous 30-mile-loop via Malibu Canyon Road, Mulholland Highway, Sierra Creek Road and Kanan-Dume Road.

Detours involve mountain routes through the Santa Monicas, not exactly fast, but always thrilling.

For the intrepid driver, here's the alternate route: