Popular California coast spots closed amid dangerous high surf warnings
Officials will reassess the situation and decide whether to reopen the pier after Christmas based on weather conditions and forecasts.
Amid dangerous high surf on Dec. 23, part of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the ocean.
The Ventura Pier in Ventura, located an hour north of Los Angeles, was closed early Sunday morning due to high surf warnings. The popular coastal hot spot is expected to remain off limits through Christmas Day, according to Ventura Police Cmdr. Edward Caliento. The closure is a precautionary measure to prevent the big waves from damaging the pier.
"The real danger is the rolling waves could break the uprights," Cmdr. Caliento said, according to the Ventura County Star. "That is what happened last year," he said.
Intense waves crashed into piers, seawalls and cliffs along California’s coast on Dec. 28, injuring several people who were swept up in the water while watching the waves.
Officials will reassess the situation and decide whether to reopen the pier after Christmas based on weather conditions and forecasts, emergency services manager for the Ventura Police Department Mackenzie Douglass said.
Surf on Ventura County beaches is expected to reach 15 to 18 feet through Tuesday morning on Ventura County beaches, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. Local meteorologists report surf as high as 12 feet at Channel Islands Harbor.
Dangerous waves are also pounding the Bay Area coastline as a series of storms passes through the region prompting flooding and dangerous high surf warnings in Northern California, according to an NBC affiliate in the Bay Area which noted that dozens of people headed out to the coast Sunday for a chance to witness the notable waves.
"We just had a notification saying the waves were really big, so we rushed out and drove out here right away," said 17-year-old Maria Ketzler, who is visiting from Florida with her family.
The National Weather Service has issued coastal flooding and high surf warnings through noon Tuesday for the coastline from Point Reyes all the way south to Big Sur. The NWS is warning about the risk of dangerously large waves between 30 and 35 feet and up to 40 feet in some spots like Mavericks in Half Moon Bay.
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