Two OC beach cities have declared states of emergency after high tides brought significant erosion to the beaches, putting houses on the waterfront in danger, with other cities looking to declare their own soon.
Laguna Beach declared their local state of emergency Friday morning, with Dana Point declaring an emergency on Wednesday night, after the fringes of Hurricane Marie brought high surf and rain to Southern California this Labor Day Weekend.
According to Laguna Beach’s emergency announcement, six homes in the city have been yellow-tagged, meaning that the structure has restricted entry, because of damage to the sea wall.
Additionally, several beaches and parking lots remain closed because of continued erosion and high surf.
In Dana Point, nine homes have been red-tagged – or deemed unsafe to inhabit – and seven have been yellow-tagged after the storms’ high swells damaged the properties, according to a city press release.
The local emergencies will last for one full week from their declaration date, unless the cities decide to extend them.
The declarations come as the National Weather Service announced Thursday that this year’s El Niño has a 75% chance of bringing a historic weather event, meaning that the coast will likely see even stronger storms – and more erosion – this winter.
“Most of us have never seen this much sand leave our beaches at once,” said Laguna Beach City Manager Dave Kiff in the news release.
“We expect it to come back, but we are not counting on it, and with a very strong El Niño forecast we need the ability to act quickly to protect homes, beaches and public infrastructure,” Kiff said.
The city of San Clemente is also looking to declare a state of emergency at their city council meeting next week, after seeing significant damage to the pier, including damage to a pylon and 17 braces, which could cost the city about $300,000, according to a staff report.
They are also calling on the OC Board of Supervisors to declare a county-wide state of emergency to address damages and the “unanticipated costs” affiliated with them.
The declaration comes after strong surf on Sunday damaged part of the train line in San the city that runs from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station and the Oceanside stop in San Diego County, leaving the tracks closed until further notice.
[Read: San Clemente Train Line Closed Indefinitely After High Tide Damage]
“Waves overtopped the tracks in the affected area and caused further deterioration along the adjacent slope, including damage to some previously placed protective rock. The rail line closed so crews could safely assess conditions and perform additional emergency stabilization,” reads a news release.
Crews have been working to stabilize the tracks by adding large boulders, known as riprap.
However, San Clemente city officials have had concerns about riprap causing further deterioration to their already shrinking coastline, with lack of funding has been a longstanding issue with progress being made.
[Read: OC Officials Consider Boulders Along Coastal Train, San Clemente Protests]
In a news release Tuesday, the OC Transportation Authority wrote that stabilizing the line is an ongoing project, in collaboration with city officials.
“OCTA also continues working with the state and local partners on longer-term planning to improve the resiliency of the coastal rail corridor in south Orange County while advancing near-term stabilization and sand placement efforts to help protect the existing rail line.”
Michelle King is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood reporting fellow. You can reach her at mcaitlin254@gmail.com.
