California residents on edge as high surf and flooding threats persist on Christmas Eve
SANTA CRUZ, California — Continued high surf and flooding threats along the California coast have residents on high alert a day later a heavy storm was blamed for the death of one man and the partial collapse of a piercausing three people to be driven into the Pacific Ocean.
The National Weather Service warned of dangerous large breaking waves up to 35 feet high on Christmas Eve. The latest high wave warning is in effect until 6pm on Tuesday.
“Large waves can crash over the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said in a Christmas Eve bulletin.
Some California cities ordered the evacuation of beachfront homes and hotels Monday afternoon as forecasters warned that storm surges would continue to increase throughout the day.
In Watsonville along the Monterey Bay, first responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a man trapped under rubble. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes a large wave trapped him there. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The storm’s high surf also likely pulled another man into the Pacific Ocean around noon Monday at Marina State Beach, nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Watsonville, authorities said. Strong currents and high waves forced searchers to abandon their efforts about two hours later as conditions deteriorated. The man remained missing Monday evening.
In Santa Cruz, a municipal wharf under construction partially collapsed and fell into the ocean around 12:45 p.m., taking three people with it. Two people were rescued by lifeguards and a third swam to safety. No one was seriously injured.
“We expect what’s coming our way to be more serious than what happened this morning,” Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said Monday.
Keeley said part of the wharf had been damaged over time. The structure was in the midst of a $4 million renovation after devastating storms last winter, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco.
“It’s a catastrophe for those at the end of the dock,” said David Johnston, who was allowed onto the pier to check on his company, Venture Quest Kayaking.
Tony Elliot, the head of Santa Cruz Parks & The Recreation Department estimated that about 150 feet of the end of the dock fell into the water. It was immediately evacuated and remains closed indefinitely.
Some of the dock’s pilings are still in the ocean and still pose a “serious, serious hazard” to boats, the mayor said. Each pole weighs hundreds of kilos and is pushed by powerful waves.
“You are risking your life and the lives of the people who should be trying to save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service said on the social platform X.
The end of the demolished Santa Cruz Wharf had been shut down during renovation work. The section, which included public toilets and the closed Dolphin restaurant, drifted about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) along the coast and wedged itself at the bottom of the San Lorenzo River.
Those who fell into the water were two engineers and a project manager who were inspecting the end of the wharf, officials said. There were no civilians around.
Construction inspectors looked at the rest of the pier’s structural integrity.
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Dazio reported from Los Angeles.