Earlier this week, the ocean poured across the bike trail and parking lots along Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County, then continued across the access road and the Pacific Coast Highway to join the Bolsa Chica wetlands.
That’s almost three football fields away, said Orange County state park superintendent Kevin Pearsall. “It was a huge tide.”
The massive flow of water shut down the PCH in Huntington Beach and set off a swirl of videos and images capturing the scene on social media.
The unusually intense flooding is forcing authorities to recognize that changes to the coastal environment may be a current, not future, challenge. “We’ve been told for a few years ‘anticipate changes’ and they are definitely happening right now,” Pearsall said.
The flooding happened just after what are known as “King Tides” — the highest tides of the year. During high tides, especially if combined with a storm surge, it’s not uncommon for the Pacific Coast Highway to flood along this low-lying, narrow dry stretch.
But Tuesday, when Pearsall said the waves washed over the highway on-and-off for six hours, there was no storm.
“It was actually a beautiful day,” he said. “No one expected that high tide to go where it went on that random, enjoyable day.”
Parking Lots Closed, Access Road Undermined
On Friday, sand covered some of the parking lots at the park’s northern end. Parts of the access road — newly repaved in 2012 — had caved in where it runs parallel to the highway.
CAN YOU STILL VISIT?
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- Yes, but parking may be a challenge. 800…
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