The end of a wharf that draws visitors to Santa Cruz, Calif., collapsed in high surf on Monday, sending two engineers and a project manager who had been inspecting the structure into the water, the authorities said.
All three were rescued and taken to a hospital, city officials said at a news conference. No one was seriously injured or believed to be missing, Mayor Fred Keeley of Santa Cruz said.
The wharf was built in 1914 and, at 2,745 feet, bills itself on Instagram as the longest fully wooden wharf in the Western Hemisphere. It has recently hosted holiday-themed events, like photo sessions with Santa Claus.
The end of the wharf was closed to the public when the last 150 feet of the structure collapsed into the Pacific Ocean at around 12:45 p.m., city officials said. The city had already determined that the end of the wharf needed to be taken down and repaired after it was damaged in storms over the past several years, officials said.
Heavy wooden pilings, part of the wharf deck, a restroom and part of a former restaurant were lost in the water, city officials said, as were two pieces of construction equipment, a crane and a skid steer loader.
Mr. Keeley urged people not to get near the ocean, warning that pilings that were being pounded by the waves posed a threat to boaters and swimmers.
The city manager, Matt Huffaker, called the collapse “another testament to the power of our changing climate.”
“Despite all the effort that our staff put in collectively to planning for these potential incidents, each year it’s really blowing through our forecasts,” Mr. Huffaker said. He added: “Our coastline is wild. It’s unpredictable. And we continue to see that winter season over winter season.”
The city’s parks and recreation director, Tony Elliot, said that city officials were in the midst of a $4 million project to restore the damaged end of the wharf when it was destroyed on Monday.
Robert Oatey, the Santa Cruz fire chief, said that firefighters were already patrolling the coastline and lifeguards were positioned on a nearby cliff when the wharf collapsed. The firefighters and lifeguards responded and pulled two people from the water, he said. A third person who went into the ocean also made it to safety, he said.
The collapse came as the National Weather Service issued a high surf warning, cautioning that “dangerously large breaking waves of 30 to 40 feet, with largest wave sets up to 60 feet” were possible. The warning area included San Francisco, the coastal North Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore, the San Francisco Peninsula coast, Monterey Bay and the Big Sur coast.
“Life-threatening swimming and surfing conditions and significant shoreline erosion can be expected,” the Weather Service said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has been briefed on a “previously damaged section of the Santa Cruz pier that broke off due to heavy surf,” his office said on social media. It said that state emergency officials were coordinating with local officials to provide support.
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