Sea Rage

The closing of the Ocean Beach Pier was announced at the March 1 Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council meeting.

“We lost a good 200 yards of railing on the south side [of the pier],” said a councilmember. “The water split it like toothpicks.”

Representatives of the council stated the pier will be closed “minimally a week, maybe two” for repairs. The damages occurred during the early afternoon hours of Saturday, February 27, when rough seas thrashed against it; the tsunami that resulted from the 8.8 earthquake offshore Chile was named as a contributing factor.

“The lifeguards reported that the swells during the tsunami advisory had only increased about three feet,” said a meeting attendee. “That’s a lot of damage for such a minimal increase. Isn’t the first pier closing, and you can bet it won’t be the last.”

The pier was last closed on January 13 due to a winter storm that brought large waves.