Pier Closes Again as Pilings Snap : More Damage Feared With New Storm’s Arrival Today

For the second time in two weeks, the Ventura Pier was closed Monday after towering waves knocked 14 wooden support poles from beneath the planked walkway.

The pounding surf--from 10 to 15 feet high--left two sections of the 122-year-old pier particularly vulnerable to swells expected to hit Ventura County today as a storm arrives.

Near shore, only two pilings were left to support a stretch of walkway previously held up by 10 poles.

“I’m concerned,” said John Betonte, maintenance manager for the city of Ventura. “But there’s little you can do about it when the surf’s up. If we get another series of waves in the 12- to 14-foot range, we could have some more damage.”

Despite the enormous swells, state lifeguards said they had made no rescues by Monday afternoon, and boaters experienced few serious problems. The Ventura Harbor Patrol towed in just one boat after it struck a jetty.

The large waves and the sight of 60-foot logs snapping like Tinkertoys drew hundreds of gawkers to Ventura’s beachfront promenade.

“It’s kind of mesmerizing,” said bicyclist Jonathan Youngman, 40, who stood near three pilings that washed ashore. “I should be home doing chores, but I just can’t go away.”

Others expressed surprise that the 1,958-foot-long pier--now blocked by a chain-link fence--was closed again so soon.

City officials closed the structure Dec. 19, after the first large swell of the winter knocked out 10 wooden supports. In all, 14 were replaced and the pier reopened last Thursday.

The recent battering follows a $3.5-million reconstruction in 1993. Much of the pier had been closed for six years because of storm damage.

“If they’d have built it right to begin with, this wouldn’t be happening,” said Tim Beneteau, 30, an oil field mechanic from Ventura.

But officials said that all wooden piers are susceptible to such damage. The pilings, made from treated Douglas fir, are weakened over time by worms that devour the interior of the poles.

“If you have waves breaking underneath this pier, the stresses are more than a weakened pile can handle,” Betonte said.

Most of the poles that snapped Monday were encrusted with barnacles and mussels and appeared to predate last year’s restoration.

During that project, more than one-sixth of the 618 poles that hold up the pier were replaced. The rest were judged structurally sound.

However, Betonte said the process for testing the piles is hardly an exact science.

“A diver goes down there with a hammer and thumps on them to see if they’re hollow. That’s how you test,” he said.

Betonte said the pier will probably be shut down at least several weeks and cost $40,000 to $60,000 to repair.

The city owns several extra pilings, but Betonte did not know whether additional ones would be available from other piers. If new ones must be ordered, the delay could be several months.

Until permanent repairs are made, large beams and heavy chains will be used to stabilize the weakest portions.

The first in a series of storms is expected to bring rain to Southern California early today.

“It’s going to be a wet week,” said Ed Wentworth, a National Weather Service forecaster.

In addition to the rain, Wentworth said the waves hitting west-facing beaches could be several feet higher today, peaking with the 10 a.m. high tide. The surf is expected to gradually decrease the rest of the week.