Part of Santa Cruz pier collapses as coastal city gets pounded by high surf

Three people fell into the water when more than a hundred feet of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, as the coastal city was pounded with dangerous high surf.

A city employee and two contractors were at the end of the pier checking on its stability and how it was withstanding rough waves when about 150 feet of the pier gave way, tossing the workers into the cold water, city officials said during a news conference. Two of them were rescued by lifeguards in the area, and the third was able to get to safety on their own.

Video from the Northern California city showed a part of the pier floating in the water.

The incident occurred while the area was expected to see dangerous high surf along the beaches, including in Point Reyes National Seashore, the San Francisco Peninsula coast, Monterey Bay and the Big Sur coast, according to the National Weather Service. The heavy surf is the result of a series of atmospheric river events that are bringing heavy rain to Northern California, Oregon and Washington state.

Similar weather resulted in significant damage last winter to the piers in nearby Capitola and Seacliff.

Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker said city officials were expecting strong waves and dangerous conditions due to the atmospheric river events, and that climate change has continuously made actual weather conditions more dangerous than what city staff had prepared for.

“We continue to see that winter season over winter season,” Huffaker said. “Each year it’s really blowing through our forecast.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom was also briefed about the partial collapse, his office said in a statement on social media.

Santa Cruz officials had issued a warning to residents, telling them to expect hazardous conditions on the beaches, including strong rip currents and powerful waves that could “pull even the strongest swimmers out to sea.”

The end of the pier had already been closed off from the public as the city worked to renovate and repair weather over the last two years, said Santa Cruz Director of Parks and Recreation Tony Elliot.

On Monday afternoon, the city’s parks and recreation projects manager and two contractors were in the closed-off area when, at 12:45 p.m., a part of the pier collapsed.

Staff in personal watercraft who were already patrolling the area were able to rescue two of the people from the water, said Santa Cruz Fire Chief Robert Oatey.

A total of three people were taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution, but officials said they suffered only minor injuries.

The collapse also took down construction equipment and a restroom building. Much of it was drifting in the ocean south and east of the city but conditions were too dangerous to try to collect it, officials said. Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said the city would work with other jurisdictions as conditions allowed to track and collect the debris from the water.

By 1 p.m., city officials shut down all access to the wharf and pedestrian traffic was blocked because of the partial collapse.

High, strong waves 30 to 40 feet high were expected to hit area shores Monday, according to the National Weather Service. A high surf warning was expected to remain in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday, with some waves reaching up to 60 feet in some areas.

The strong waves would be life-threatening conditions for swimmers and surfers, officials said, and would submerge sand berms.

“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the warning read. “Everyone should remain out of the water due to life-threatening surf conditions.”

Officials from the city’s building, public works, police and fire departments have responded to assess the damage, but officials expect the entire pier to be closed off to the public until further notice.