Storm forces crews to move lifeguard towers at some Southern California beaches
In Los Angeles County, lifeguards raced to pull lifeguard towers off beaches as high tides and huge waves threatened to pull them out to sea Thursday morning, Jan. 15. Meanwhile, beaches in Orange County appeared to suffer less of an onslaught from the storm that came ashore in the early morning hours.
The swell was hitting west-facing shores in South Bay – Hermosa Beach, Dockweiler Beach and Manhattan Beach – hard, with waves topping 15 feet that slammed onto the beach, pushing water across the sand to where the towers had already been pushed back.
“We’re seeing a significant loss of shoreline and large surf has taken out large chunks of sand,” said Capt. AJ Lester with Los Angeles County Lifeguards and Fire. “We’ve been doing emergency lifeguard tower moves. This has been a significant event and we are losing beach more rapidly than expected.”
Nearly 200 lifeguard towers typically man the beaches from Rancho Palos Verdes to Malibu, and most of the activity to move them out of the way of the ocean water was necessary in Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Playa del Ray, Venice Beach and Santa Monica Beach.
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Lifeguards were also watching cliffs in Palos Verdes and an area known as Abalone Cove, where sea caves in the past have drawn large numbers of people, to make sure there were no rock falls.
Lester also warned that beachgoers should stay clear of the sand and rocks over the next few days at these beach areas because intermittent wave surges – some topping more than 10 feet – can still be expected.
“If your sitting on rocks, all of a sudden a set can come in and knock you off,” he said, adding that even higher waves surges are expected at high tide on Thursday night. Some of these could be even larger than what the Thursday morning deluge and winds brought.
In Orange County, agencies reported swells but no major issues along the sand. Pacific Coast Highway was flooded on the inland lanes between Seapointe and Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach because of the amount of rain failing, but the beaches appeared to hold up well, said Graham Peralta, a senior park aide with State Parks, which manages beaches nearby.
Further south in West Newport Beach, city crews dug up sand Thursday morning to further bolster berms built in that area. The extra sand was precautionary, said John Pope, the city’s spokesman, because the area between 40th and 50th streets has seen some flooding in the past.
Of greatest concern in Newport Beach, he said, was the sand berm near the Newport Pier, an area that frequently sees flooding from heavier surf that pushes water across the nearby parking lots. That berm is built up just after Labor Day for the winter and is typically about 20 feet tall. On Thursday morning, it was holding up, Pope said.
Laguna Beach lifeguard Capt. Kai Bond reported no major issues along the city beaches.
Forecasts for the winter swell that came in Thursday expected it to continue to be strong on Friday, which morning tides even expected to be higher – expectation is 5.8 feet along Huntington Beach on Friday.