VENTURA, California — Southern California's Ventura County issued a temporary evacuation warning for some coastal residents on Saturday due to high surf that battered the West Coast this week but is now starting to calm down.
County officials warned that powerful waves, expected to reach as high as 20 feet, were forecast near a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, and fire officials told people to avoid coastal areas. Authorities lifted the evacuation warning this afternoon.
People who gathered at Pierpont Beach in the city of Ventura in the morning to stare at the swirling waters were warned not to go beyond the large sand berms created Friday to protect waterfront homes, and officials closed some streets .
Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder called this week's surf an “extraordinary event” unlike anything he had experienced in his 14 years in the city.
Fire department spokesman Andy VanSciver said there were no reports of damage or injuries Saturday, but the evacuation warning would remain in effect until the waves subside. Earlier this week, authorities rescued eight people injured by the surf.
Elsewhere along the California coast, flooding led to the closure of some streets and bike paths. A high surf warning in the San Francisco Bay Area was downgraded to an advisory, with the National Weather Service saying wave heights had decreased.
Some surfers took advantage of the waves in Seal Beach, a small town about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.
Miles Malohn, a 23-year-old from Irvine who has been surfing for about a decade, said it was one of the biggest winter waves he has seen in years.
“It was pretty hectic out there for a few waves,” Malohn said. “You had to be very selective which one you ride so you don't get hurt or wiped out very badly.”
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Austin reported from Sacramento, and AP photographer Damian Dovarganes in Seal Beach, California, contributed. Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @sophieadanna