Laguna Beach declared a local state of emergency Friday morning after high tides and surf from the fringes of Hurricane Marie carved away sand and damaged a sea wall, leaving six homes yellow-tagged. Several beaches and parking lots stayed closed as the city moved to keep pace with continued erosion.
Dave Kiff and Laguna Beach
City Manager Dave Kiff said, "Most of us have never seen this much sand leave our beaches at once." He added, "We expect it to come back, but we are not counting on it, and with a very strong El Niño forecast we need the ability to act quickly to protect homes, beaches and public infrastructure," tying the emergency order to both the damage already visible and the risk of more erosion ahead.
The declaration gives Laguna Beach one full week of emergency authority unless city leaders extend it. That window is meant to let the city respond without waiting for slower steps if more surf, rain or erosion worsens conditions along the coast.
Dana Point and San Clemente
The Laguna Beach action followed other coastal emergency moves in Southern California. Dana Point declared an emergency on Wednesday night, with nine homes red-tagged and seven homes yellow-tagged after the storms' high swells damaged properties. San Clemente was looking to declare a state of emergency at its city council meeting next week after strong surf on Sunday damaged part of the train line and waves overtopped the tracks.
Crews in San Clemente were adding large boulders, known as riprap, to stabilize the tracks, while the rail line remained closed until further notice. The same storm system that cut into beaches in Laguna Beach also left public infrastructure across the coast with immediate repair and protection needs.
The city is still treating the sand loss as something that may recover naturally, but it is not waiting for that to happen before acting. For residents near the shoreline, the practical change is that yellow-tagged homes remain restricted and the closed beaches and parking lots stay off-limits while the emergency period runs.
