Aliso Beach becomes latest shoreside community to fight beach erosion
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- Laguna Beach public works officials have closed a section of Aliso Beach’s parking lot.
- The closure comes as Tropical Storm Marie is expected to develop into a hurricane, producing a high chance of waves, rip currents and some light rain over the Labor Day weekend, according to forecasters.
Laguna Beach officials have closed a section of the Aliso Beach parking lot after high tides and strong waves washed away sand and undermined a section of the lot.
The temporary shutdown comes as Tropical Storm Marie in the eastern Pacific Ocean is expected to turn into a hurricane by Wednesday and move toward Southern California, producing large waves, strong rip currents and some light rain over the holiday weekend, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The storm swells are likely to create more problems for coastal communities that have suffered severe beach degradation this summer.
Along Point Dume in Malibu, ocean waves have eaten away some 60 feet of sand, threatening a road essential to accessing the parking lot, according to the L.A. County Department of Beaches & Harbors.
In San Diego County, sections of Carlsbad State Beach have washed away, including the area in front of the Tamarack parking lot, forcing part of it to be closed.
L.A. County’s Department of Beaches and Harbors did not provide an estimate for when the facilities would reopen.
In Newport Beach, strong waves have carved away so many layers of sand that they exposed long-forgotten remnants of the city’s infrastructure that lay buried under sand and water for many decades.
And now, Aliso Beach joins the list of areas confronted by erosion problems.
The temporary closure at Aliso Beach’s west parking lot was announced by public works officials on the city’s social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram.
City officials said on Instagram that city crews have removed electrical lines mounted to nearby palm trees that are at risk of falling.
“Crews then removed some of the failed pavement and moved sand to backfill and secure some of the eroded edges,” the Instagram post read.
The city said the lot will remain closed as staff monitor wave activity. They asked visitors to stay outside of the barricades and away from the eroded edge.
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