Huge waves batter California coast: Man dead, another missing, section of pier collapses
The city of Santa Cruz is reeling after a powerful storm sent waves crashing into Monterey Bay, damaging a pier and killing a person farther south who became pinned under debris.
By Tuesday morning a public bathroom that once stood on the wharf bobbed along the coast. Local beaches remained closed because of the risk of hazardous debris washing ashore and city officials are still assessing the extent of the damage.
“It’s total chaos,” Surf School Santa Cruz owner Bud Freitas told The Times. “I just did a drive through the south side of town and the beaches are all tore up. It looks like a bomb went off.”
The previous day, monstrous waves slammed into Monterey Bay, driven by hurricane-force winds hundreds of miles away. It’s a regular occurrence along the Central Coast this time of year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass.
In December 2023, a storm surge damaged the wharf and forced the city to close the pier to the public. The city demolished a restaurant at the end of the wharf and officials planned to complete repairs to the wharf by March 2025.
But then the came a high surf warning on Sunday, with the weather service reporting waves peaking at over 40 feet.
Freitas, who grew up surfing in Santa Cruz, said Monday’s swells were some of the biggest he’s seen in his life. Locals were aware of the conditions on the wharf, but he was in shock when he started to see videos of it washing away.
“I never thought it would have happened, but you know the ocean wins again,” he said.
The high surf warning will be in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday then the waves are expected to subside.
In the meantime, officials are urging people across the region to stay out of the water and avoid piers, marinas and the beach. High surf is also expected along some Southern California beaches, approaching 18 feet in Ventura County and 12 feet in L.A. County.
The violent storm-fueled waves are also being blamed for the death of a man who was found pinned beneath debris on a stretch of Monterey Bay coastline, as well as the disappearance of another man.
Farther south, conditions were much calmer Tuesday.
A weakening cold front is expected to zip through Los Angeles County on Christmas Eve, starting off with a light smattering of rain in the afternoon that’s expected to clear out by the evening.
“I can’t imagine it will be a damper for anyone,” said meteorologist Joe Sirard with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.
Christmas Day should be a perfect Southern California winter day — clear, sunny skies with some wind and temperatures in the 60s. A cold front will bring persistent wind gusts to the Antelope Valley starting Tuesday evening and whip through parts of the Santa Clarita, San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys Wednesday.
Those conditions are a far cry from what people in Santa Cruz faced Monday.
Emergency crews were called to Sunset State Beach at 11:30 a.m. to assist a man who was reported trapped beneath debris amid high surf. The man was freed and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. His identity is being withheld until his family is notified.
Meanwhile, about 15 miles farther down the coast, dangerous conditions forced authorities to call off a search for a man who was swept into the ocean at Marina State Beach around noon, according to the Marina Police Department. The two incidents are not believed to be related, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said.
City officials closed the Santa Cruz Wharf to the public after part of the structure collapsed Monday.
Bystanders at Marina State Beach reported that a man was overcome by high surf and pulled out to sea, police said. They were unable to help him because of the huge waves and strong current.
First responders did not see the missing man when they arrived at the beach. They began their search around 300 yards north of Dunes Drive, where the man entered the ocean.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol searched by air and by sea but were also unable to find the man. At 2 p.m., the search was deemed too dangerous to continue due to worsening weather conditions. The man’s identity was not released by police.
On Monday, the National Weather Service issued a high surf warning for California’s northern coast — including Santa Cruz, Point Reyes, San Francisco and northern Monterey Bay — and urged people to stay away from beaches until 6 p.m. Tuesday because of life-threatening conditions.
“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said. “Sudden immersion in cold water can result in cold water shock even for the most experienced swimmers.”
A series of atmospheric river storms are expected to impact Northern California over the weekend, meaning there could be some repercussions for holiday travel.
In many ways, officials in Santa Cruz said they were prepared for the high surf in the forecast. Emergency responders were ready for anything. Then the end of the wharf collapsed into the ocean.
“This isn’t what we thought was going to happen, for sure, but we were prepared,” Santa Cruz Fire Department Division Chief Ryan Reber said during a Tuesday news conference.
The outermost section of the wharf that collapsed was under construction, and three people — a city employee and two contractors — were plunged into the water.
Two of them were rescued by lifeguards in the area, and the third was able to get to safety on their own.
Santa Cruz Assistant City Manager Michelle Templeton pointed to climate change and the sea-level rise and increased frequency of intense storms that come with it as an ongoing challenge for the coastal community.
Reinforcing infrastructure along the coastline is an ongoing project for the city.
“Our wharf being over 100 years old, it requires regular maintenance to repair and continue to ensure safety,” Templeton said. “Again, Mother Nature holds the cards, and we do know that these west swells are continuing to grow in severity, and we’ll continue to assess the damage that’s been ongoing to determine how we’re going to proceed.”
In the next few weeks or months, officials are going to have “a sober conversation about what happens when you are a jurisdiction on the edge of the continent in a world of climate change,” Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said.
“Do you simply say, ‘That was that, and we’re going to put it everything back and see how it goes?’ ” Keeley asked during a video news conference. “I think we need to take time outside of the context of the heat of the moment and understand what it is we’re going to do.”
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