Pacific storm 600 miles off shore generates mammoth waves; Venice Pier sustains damage
SANTA MONICA BEACH — The Pacific storm that brought waves well over 10 feet high crashing onto the coastline Wednesday isn’t expected to let up until next Thursday.
Local lifeguards said they are braced for high surf well into next week, after the first and strongest portion of a Pacific storm produced the highest waves in years on Santa Monica’s shores.
Santa Monica’s Harbor Patrol said the north and south lower-fishing decks of the Santa Monica Pier were closed on Wednesday and will be considered for public use on a day-by-day basis until the surf subsides.
Visitors are welcomed to view the recent wild tide from the top deck of the pier, which will likely remain open in the coming days, lifeguards said. Taking in the view from a safe place, however, is as close to the water as lifeguards want the public to get, until the tide relents.
“One thing I’ve been seeing a lot of is parents letting their children run in and out of the water,” said Wayne Salkoski, harbor officer. “That is so dangerous. No one should be in the water right now, especially children.
“No one should be in the water right now... All it takes is one second, and your child’s gone. That’s how powerful the water is.” — – WAYNE SALKOSKI Harbor Patrol officer
“All it takes is one second, and you’re child’s gone. That’s how powerful the water is.”
Salkoski said his experienced crew of lifeguards are being knocked on their rear ends when they try to swim.
On Wednesday, the pier and surrounding beaches suffered no property damage.
Neighboring Venice wasn’t so lucky. Large waves, some reported to be 15 feet, damaged the Venice Pier, where two bathrooms were wiped out.
Flooding occurred around the county’s lifeguard monitoring station in Venice, and water rushed up to parking lots, knocking over trash cans and startling beach visitors, according to reports.
The Venice Pier, rebuilt in 1997, was closed as a precaution on Wednesday and will likely remain off limits through Thursday, when waves of more than 10 feet are expected for west-facing beaches.
So far, there have been no reports of any surf-related injuries.
The swell is expected to slowly decrease to between 4 and 6 feet on Friday and remain that way until Saturday. On Sunday, more waves 8 feet and higher are expected, a trend which will continue until Thursday, Dec. 29, according to the National Weather Service.
The high surf is the result of a Pacific storm that was 600 miles off shore by 6 a.m. on Tuesday, and is expected to generate waves on Santa Monica’s beaches ranging between 3 to more than 20 feet high in some places.
The waves are coming from a west-by-northwest storm system that’s been traveling at low latitudes toward the region, according to Wetsand.com, a surf Web site.
The storm — characterized as “moderately sized” for the Pacific, with 30-to 35-foot swells — is expected to be close enough to the coast to significantly affect wave size through Thursday.
According to Wetsand.com, most storm systems traveling through the Pacific either turn northward before nearing the California coast or lose strength once passing the Hawaiian Islands. However, Wednesday’s storm is expected to be different, where Southern California’s coastal places have been set to be a “direct hit” of the system.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.