Powerful seas fueled by recent storms, a wharf more than a century old battered by hundreds of storms, and a construction zone combined for a “perfect situation” that led to the partial collapse of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Monday, according to a city official.
Now, as crews assess the damage and safety issues moving forward, the city needs to decide whether to approach quick repairs or start thinking long term, as climate change fuels sea level rise and more powerful storms, Santa Cruz’s mayor said Tuesday.
A group of city officials held a media briefing on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after the end of the wharf collapsed Monday afternoon in powerful surf, sending three workers into the water. Two were rescued by lifeguards and one swam to safety. No one was significantly injured.
The storm surge also sent a public restroom into the ocean, as well as what was left of the demolished Dolphin restaurant, which was closed nearly a year ago after being red-tagged from strong storms in 2023.
Officials stressed the coast is still in a state of emergency that was expected to continue into Christmas Day, and people should avoid the coast, including coastal overlooks.
Due to a high-surf advisory and the large amounts of debris, including potentially hazardous materials, the wharf, Main Beach and Cowell’s Beach are closed until further notice.
Assessing the damage
Mike Godsy, the city’s superintendent of parks, said assessments of the now-closed wharf are ongoing.
“There are many, many multiple dynamic layers as to what’s being assessed really, from beaches to the wharf structure itself,” Godsy said. “Public safety is obviously the key goal. With the active structure itself, we are working with our contracted engineering firms to get a solid-state current structural integrity understanding of the wharf structure.”
“We’re also assessing what that means from a public safety (perspective) and ability to reopen the wharf,” Godsy said. “Those informed decisions, those times and dates, will be set once we have much more data and much more understanding of the current situation.”
Godsy said the city is thankful the damage wasn’t worse.
“We’re very thankful for the structural integrity of the wharf and how strong and persevered it has been through many, many, many, many storms over 100 plus years. I just wanted to reiterate the section that did come down was an active construction site that was open and with a lot of different variables that provided really the perfect situation for it to collapse.”
Police evacuated the wharf Monday and used a drone to make sure additional victims weren’t in the water. Ryan Reber, the division chief in charge of operations and marine safety for the Santa Cruz Fire Department, said first responders were ready.
“We’ve had this swell on our radar for a solid week and so we had eight extra lifeguards on two of our personal watercrafts with four people, two on each one, out in the water already patrolling the area. This isn’t what we thought was going to happen for sure, but we were prepared.”
Mayor Fred Keeley said, though the city is still “in the incident,” it must have a “sober conversation” about how to tackle the effects of climate change.
“We’ve had this swell on our radar for a solid week. … This isn’t what we thought was going to happen for sure, but we were prepared.”
Ryan Reber, Santa Cruz Fire Department
“What happens when you are in jurisdiction, on the edge of the continent, in the world with climate change?” Keeley said. “Do you simply say that was that and we’re going to put everything back and see how it goes? I’m not as sanguine about that. I think we need to take time outside of the context of the heat of the moment and understand what it is we’re going to do with our partners in the federal and state government (who) continue to provide assistance to not only us, but other jurisdictions with regard to climate change, disasters and damage. “
“If so, let’s have that conversation. If not, what does that mean for us? Hallelujah that no one was hurt in this, which could have been orders of magnitude worse in terms of any injuries to human beings and damage to property onshore and offshore.”
Keeley said Santa Cruz isn’t alone.
“This is what those communities around the world are probably dealing with in that manifestation of climate change … we have a different challenge going forward.”
Storm-related impacts around the region
The wharf’s collapse was one of several high-surf related incidents along the coast on Monday.
At Sunset State Beach on Monterey Bay, a large wave washed up about 11:30 a.m., trapping a man under debris, according to a Santa Cruz County spokesperson. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In Sonoma County, three people were swept off the edge of Scotty’s Creek near Bodega Bay at about 12:30 p.m. by a powerful ocean wave.
“The wave overtook the subjects, carrying two of them approximately 150 yards up the creek,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said on social media.
Two deputy chiefs who were nearby responded and found one person clinging to rocks. Two others were carried further up the creek by the powerful wave. They were both rescued by emergency crews.
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