Home Care In Capistrano Beach, CA

Toni Nelson thinks back to a year ago, when her beloved beach was a rocky mess.

The popular pathway connecting Capistrano Beach and Doheny State Beach was being battered by the sea, the dirt beach path used by bikers, walkers and joggers shrinking. The few remaining palm trees – in place for decades – were in danger of toppling, as so many had already. Parking lots were regularly getting hammered by waves.

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Capistrano Beach after an infusion of sand in Dana Point, CA, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The sand for the eroding beach cam from a surplus of sand stuck in the Santa Ana River following last year’s severe rain. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

There was little space for beachgoers to enjoy the plush, soft sand Southern California beaches are known for – until now. Beachgoers who frequent this south Orange County coastline are enjoying a newly-built beach, a joint effort between the county and the state to revamp the battered stretch.

The project utilized sediment stuck in the Santa Ana River from last winter’s heavy rains that would have gone to a landfill and diverted it to the shrinking coast. The convoy of trucks transporting the sand kicked off in June and finished in 14 weeks, lighting speed compared to traditional sand replenishment projects that can take years, even decades, to navigate through approvals, funding and government red tape.

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Photo Credits: Before Jeff Gritchen After Jeff Gritchen

“In the past, we couldn’t even put a towel along that beach,” said Nelson, who lives nearby and has watched the beach severely erode in recent years. In response, she had created the community activism group Capo Cares to serve as a liaison between residents and decisionmakers as they searched for solutions.

The cost of moving this sand into place was about $800,000, which included sand screening, loading and hauling it in 3,750 truck loads from the Santa Ana River to the area, according to Shannon Widor, OC Public Works strategic communications officer.

About 45,000 cubic yards of sand were moved.

That’s enough sand to fill 13 Olympic size swimming pools, he noted.

“All went very smoothly and it was a great example of different departments and agencies working together to help the community,” Widor said in an e-mail. “It also helped raise a mutual awareness of how the county and interested cities can use this sand that’s removed from the Santa Ana River.”

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While OC Public Works has provided sand removed from the Santa Ana River to cities such as Newport Beach, Seal Beach and San Clemente in the past, “we’re looking to establish a routine process where other agencies can work with us regularly to identify uses for beach replenishment,” he said.

It’s a win-win situation, he said. The county needs to remove the sand for flood control protection, while cities can restore their beach areas that residents and visitors enjoy.

Plans are still underway to create a “living shoreline” in the area to try and keep sand in place, though the county is awaiting grant funding to move forward.

State Parks Superintendent Scott Kibbey was onsite this week surveying the new sand, watching people enjoy the rebuilt stretch of beach.

“They are out here enjoying the day,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible, compared to what it was before: A cobble beach, relatively unusable from a land-based recreation perspective.”

The project is only a small fraction of what nearby San Clemente, facing its own erosion issues, is expecting in coming months.

A federal Army Corps of Engineers project to dredge 250,000 cubic yards of sand from Oceanside to place between T-Street and Linda Lane, a $15 million undertaking, is expected to kick off later this year.

But that project, expected to be repeated every five to seven years, took 20 years of planning and approvals.

Other ideas are being explored in the beach town next door, everything from “living shorelines” with sand berms and vegetation, to various types of offshore reefs or groin jetties to try and keep sand in place.

Kibbey said the replenishment of sand offers a “softer approach” to coastal protection with low risk when compared to other kinds of armoring.

“I think this can absolutely serve as a model for other sand replenishment projects throughout coastal Southern California,” he said.

A big takeaway from the project is early and regular communication with neighboring agencies, officials said. In addition to the county and state working together, the city of Dana Point contracted a team from UC Irvine to do regular monitoring and measurements of the sediment to track its movement in coming months.

What the future holds for the sand, especially as El Nino conditions are expected this winter, is unknown, Kibbey said. But for now, it’s serving as an important buffer to keep the parking lot, underground facilities, a restroom building and showers safe from the sea.

“They were at risk from sand erosion and sea-level rise,” he said, noting that already about 50 parking spots were destroyed in recent years. “That sand is serving as a barrier from all that wave energy we’ve been experiencing.”

Surfer Mike Riggs was suiting up in his wetsuit to catch a few waves earlier this week, saying the sand was a welcome addition.

“Hobbling over the rocks barefoot kind of sucked,” he said. “I love what they are doing here because you can hang out now where it was all rocky. This is how it used to be, all sand all the way out, before they built the harbor.”

He knows with one big swell, it could be gone quickly, but said it’s worth continually bringing in the sand on a regular basis.

Victoria Nolan was in town from Virginia visiting her grandparents, finding a spot on the sand to enjoy her In-N-Out lunch.

“Whenever I would come visit, I would never come to this beach, it was too rocky for us to play in,” she said. “I think it will attract more visitors, it’s a little more accessible than it was before. You had to kind of clamor over the rocks to get places. It’s good.”

Nelson said the community is “thrilled.”

“On the weekends, it is absolutely full of people, families with all the canopies and beach towels,” she said. “In the past, we couldn’t even put a towel along that beach. Now we have people spreading out whole family picnics and that’s what a beach is for – the public.”

It shows that if regular replenishments are in place, sand works, she said.

“Our replenishment has to be an ongoing mitigation because if nature does not provide the sediment, then man has to,” she said. “We have a responsibility to keep our beaches going, it’s such a big factor in our tourism economy, it’s a resource that belongs to all of us and it behooves us to take care of it.”

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley couldn’t help but sift her hand through the first pile of sand dumped on a beach in Dana Point, tossing it to the sky and letting tiny grains flow through her fingers.

“We are so excited,” said Foley, the coastal Fifth District’s supervisor and a vocal advocate for fixing the area’s disappearing coastline. “The beach, as you can see, is gone. The coastal erosion has prevented us from being able to access these beaches, as we always have. So now, we’re finding ways we can find more sand to put on the beaches.”

The first of an estimated 3,000 truckloads of dredged sand arrived at Capistrano Beach Park and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point on Thursday, June 15, a much-needed infusion of supply that will widen the severely eroded and battered beaches.

The beaches were once a sandy, coastal haven, with plenty of space to lay out towels, play volleyball and gather around fire rings.

But several factors caused the sand space to shrink through the years: inland development and years of drought stopped sand from flowing naturally downstream; the nearby harbor build in the 1960s disrupted the sand flow; and El Nino storms in 2015 and 2016 battered the shores, leaving even less sand behind to protect the beaches from big swells and high tides in the years that followed.

A series of winter storms in 2018 dealt another blow, with waves crashing over what little beach was left to buckle a popular basketball court and destroy restrooms, parking lots and walkways.

For five years, the county and state have been working on plans to fix up the area, going through the extensive planning and permitting process with a vision for a living shoreline – a mix of boulders, cobblestones, sand and natural vegetation – to keep the beach intact. But that project is still in the works.

A few weeks ago, the county’s senior environmental resources specialist, Giles Matthews, noticed a huge sand supply upstream in a sediment trap along the Santa Ana River, there for the taking thanks to the heavy winter storms that transported the sand from inland.

“We had so much water, storm flows that came down, we had a massive amount of sand,” he said.

The sand was destined for a landfill, but knowing the beach troubles in south Orange County, another idea was spawn: Transport it instead to the beaches in need.

In coming weeks, the sand will make its way by the truckload from a county holding area in Fountain Valley. The new sand will be spread out by tractors to span 2,000 feet between Doheny State Beach and Capistrano Beach Park, with some areas wider than others, depending on which sections are in the most need.

State Parks South Sector Superintendent Scott Kibbey said the southern area of Doheny State Beach had been “completely depleted” in recent years.

“These areas used to offer ample space for beachgoers, surfers, kayakers, for people who wanted to bird view. All these activities have been limited,” he said.

Without sand as a buffer, an estimated 75 to 100 parking spots have been destroyed by the ocean’s force. In addition to a loss of public access, those spots are also lost revenue.

“The erosion of our beaches and that loss of space for public enjoyment and use of the sandy beaches, it’s very concerning as a land manager, but also as a resident and someone who enjoys going to the beach,” Kibbey said. “It’s definitely been really sad to see the state of the beaches change as much as they have.”

A sandy beach isn’t just added space for sunbathers, but also a needed buffer to keep waves from battering down on roads and infrastructure. Further south in San Clemente, train service was halted for months after crashing waves contributed to shifting of the tracks last September.

The incoming sand was tested for physical and chemical composition and studies were done on the activity of any grunion and snowy plover birds in the area to secure the permit to move ahead from the California Coastal Commission.

“Since the area has been starved for sand, there hasn’t been a habitat for grunion. We will be creating a habitat,” Kibbey said. “They will be able to nest in the area … we’re really excited this will encourage a lot of other species to repopulate the area.”

Some public access will be restricted during the work, which could take months to complete. Each truck can hold 10 cubic yards and several will make three to four trips a day for an estimated 130 days.

“There’s so much sand, it’s going to take that much time,” Kibbey said.

The value of the sand is estimated at $3.5 million, and trucking it to a landfill or the shore is a wash, officials said.

Foley said she hopes the project will be a model for the future, a way to proactively protect the valuable coastline.

“We have to manage our beaches like we manage other infrastructure, roads, parks and buildings,” she said. “We haven’t really done that. I feel like this is a good start toward that process.”

One concern on the horizon: The predicted El Nino that may bring wet, stormy conditions this upcoming winter that could chomp away the sand.

“We do realize there’s a chance that can happen,” Kibbey said. “It was worth the risk to put this sand on our beaches as opposed to having it end up in a landfill.”

UC Irvine Civil Engineering Professor Brett Sanders said El Nino storms have a long history of causing significant erosion along the coast.

Adding sand will help dissipate some of the wave energy that can cause damage, he said, and sand that is pulled offshore will likely make its way down the coast or be pushed back onto the beach. But it would be a good idea to have monitoring in place to track how wave action and tides shift the sands, he said.

The project is a good example of various agencies at multiple levels of government coming together for a common goal, Sanders said, and coastal collaborations will be needed in the future as neighboring cities face similar problems.

“The sand doesn’t know what city it’s in,” Sanders said. “Having all the cities work together, everyone will win with sand investments.”

While it’s still unknown exactly how the approaching Hurricane Hilary will act when it reaches Southern California – likely as a tropical storm – lifeguards and coastal public works departments are preparing for the beach to get battered.

The latest data on Friday showed waves at south-facing beaches like Newport Beach and Huntington Beach in Orange County and Cabrillo Beach, areas of Palos Verdes and Zuma in Los Angeles County are expected to be 8- to 10-feet tall late Sunday and into Monday morning, with bigger sets up to 15 feet and even 20 feet at the Wedge in Newport Beach.

State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall said sandbags have been put out to protect areas of vulnerable coast, with heavy machinery moving sand to create berms.

“Every state beach that may have higher-than-expected surf is prepared with sandbags throughout,” Pearsall said.

As a precaution, a junior ranger program scheduled for Monday has been canceled and if lightning comes within 10 miles of the coast, beaches will be closed, he said. Authorities will also be watching beach erosion levels at Crystal Cove and Capistrano Beach to Doheny State Beach, where sand has been hauled in recently to try and shore up the beach.

“We’re prepared for it and we’re expecting erosion, but whether or not it will take away the sand at Crystal Cove or Doheny, we don’t know yet,” he said.

While State Parks will keep entrances open when safe, Pearsall advises people to use caution when visiting the shore.

“You’ll get your lookie-loos who will be curious, they want to see 15-foot waves. We highly recommend no one goes to the beach when we have a storm like this,” he said.

Workers build a berm near the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, CA on Friday, August 18, 2023. Cities along the coast were preparing for potential high surf as the effects of Hurricane Hilary move north. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In Seal Beach, which experienced some rare summer flooding during Hurricane Marie, the forecast is expected to be anywhere from 5 feet to 10 feet, with a possibility of local coastal flooding and winds up to 50 mph.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Chief Brian O’Rourke said berms have been shored up near the Balboa Pier and, while the storm is still unstable and is still unfolding, there will definitely be impacts along the coast. The same was done in Long Beach and Seal Beach and other areas of concern along the coast.

People should watch from afar and be warned of strong onshore winds, possible lightning, even ground tornadoes.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguards put out an alert for a “tiny window for swell production based on the storm’s current location and forecast,” noting it will be a steep angle swell with impacts to mostly south and southeast facing exposures.

In Los Angeles County these locations include Cabrillo Beach, south- facing exposures along the Palos Verdes Peninsula, east-facing harbors on Catalina Island including Avalon and Isthmus, as well as Malibu and Zuma beaches in the northern half of the Santa Monica Bay.

“While these locations will likely see the largest potential for swell, be prepared to see elevated surf heights at all Los Angeles County beaches beginning Sunday and into early next week,” officials warned. Changes in the hurricane’s storm track could significantly change swell production and create elevated surf and strong currents, the alert says.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, in a Friday email, said the city is closely monitoring the situation and working with disaster preparedness teams in advance to address challenges that could arise.

“Our Long Beach emergency response teams are on high alert,” Richardson said, “and we have comprehensive plans in place to address any potential impacts of the hurricane.”

Port of Los Angeles officials were busy Friday contacting local marinas, small boat operators, marine terminals, dockworkers and cruise lines to make sure they were aware of — and prepared for — storm conditions, according to a released statement.

As necessary, the port will arrange to relocate vessels to anchorage points off shore to ride the storm out, relying on the assistance of the Los Angeles Port Pilots and Marine Exchange of Southern California, officials said, also urging residents to stay away from the shoreline and beaches throughout the duration of the storm.

A notice also went out from the Marine Exchange of Southern California advising large vessels headed for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – should wind gusts exceed 35 knots either in the forecast or being observed – to employ a second anchor, remain more than 3 nautical miles from other vessels at all times and stay 3 nautical miles away from traffic lanes and the shore. Commercial vessels also were advised to maintain continuous radio listening watch.

“Though we rarely receive rainfall of this magnitude, the Port of Long Beach has a comprehensive, all-hazard business continuity plan. We’ve built our facilities to minimize damage in any natural disaster,” Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, said in a statement.

OC Parks used heavy equipment to clear storm drains at Capistrano Beach to help reduce the chance of flooding and also removed debris and cleared drainage gates and outlets, and placed sandbags to prevent clogging and flooding.

“These efforts are intended to help control the movement of water and limit impacts to the beaches and coastal amenities,” said public information officer Danielle Kennedy.

For big-wave surfers, word of a hurricane brings a buzz of excitement at the beach.

Will waves be epic, like when Hurricane Marie in 2014 produced some of the biggest, best waves in recent memory? Just how big will waves get – and will wind be onshore and messy, or will they whip from offshore to perfectly shape the surf?

Unlike typical Southern Hemisphere swells that can be the size of Australia formed by wind thousands of miles away and predicted sometimes weeks in advance, waves produced by hurricane or tropical storms are fickle and can change with a slight tweak in direction.

Sometimes, they turn out to be duds, fizzing out before they get into the Southern California swell window. But there’s other times they roar in, producing massive waves that batter the beach and coastline, giving thrills to big-wave riders who live for such days, but also having potential to cause flooding, damage piers and parking lots or chomp away valuable sand.

“I know there will be surfers out there, but there will be dangerous conditions,” O’Rourke said. “You need to know your limits. This swell right now, as far as I can tell, advanced or very expert surfers are the only ones who should attempt to be in the water.”

Because the trajectory of the storm is so close to the region, the storm surge will likely roar in and then leave very quickly.

“Tropical storms and hurricanes are unpredictable,” he said. “That’s why you have to be cautious, it can be less than what we think, or greater, in a short period of time.”

Tide levels aren’t expected to be extremely high, like the king tides that soaked Newport Beach and Seal Beach streets a few weeks ago, which is likely good news for areas of the coast prone to flooding. Still, Newport Beach will have public works staff out ready to pump seawater if needed.

People should stay off piers and jetties during the storm and, if needed, they will be closed, O’Rourke said.

“We are cautiously looking at the storm and making some preparations to deal with it appropriately as each moment unfolds here,” O’Rourke said. “We just really hope it doesn’t affect anyone’s health or properties.”

Authorities in Dana Point and Huntington Beach reported full closures on the highway due to roadway flooding and landslides. What to know.

|Updated Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 1:27 pm PT

DANA POINT, CA — Residents traveling along Pacific Coast Highway Wednesday morning were in for a traffic headache of greater proportions, after officials in Dana Point and Huntington Beach closed sections of the roadway due to weather-related emergencies.

In Dana Point, Coast Highway was closed in both directions from Beach Road to Camino Capistrano due to a landslide caused by "severe rains," Orange County Sheriff's Department officials said.

The closure was reported early Wednesday morning, officials said. This is the second time this year that storms have closed this part of the highway, according to a previous Patch report.

RELATED: Coast Highway Reopens In Dana Point Before Storm Arrival

Matthew Sinacori, Director of Public Works for the City of Dana Point, told Patch that the roadway is expected to be reopened by 5 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The City and our partners are making good progress on clearing debris and unclogging a couple plugged storm drains," he said.

Residents were asked to use alternate routes while crews clear the roadway of mud, rock, brush and other debris.

In Huntington Beach, Caltrans announced a full closure of Pacific Coast Highway from Seapoint Street to Warner Avenue Tuesday night due to heavy rains causing flooding conditions.

Caltrans officials told the Orange County Register that the roadway may be closed in Huntington Beach until Thursday.

This particular stretch of Pacific Coast Highway has been closed several times this year, with the most closure happening in late January after a tide surge event caused the roadway to flood.

RELATED: Tide Surge Closes Coast Highway In Huntington Beach Tuesday Morning

Commuters were urged to take alternative routes.

Residents can find roadway information can be found on the Caltrans QuickMap.

This is a breaking story. Please refresh for updates.

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Residents living along the cliffs above Capistrano Beach say they are looking forward to the unveiling of a newly renovated Capistrano Seaside Inn, which after sitting in disrepair, bogged down by legal disputes for years, might open as early as the spring.

The inn, once listed among the nation’s 10 worst motels on Yelp, has been undergoing restoration after new owners purchased the property in a 2021 foreclosure sale.

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Renovations are underway at the Capistrano Seaside Inn at Capo Beach in Dana Point, CA, on Friday, January 13, 2023. The city initiated a receivership to clean up the dilapidated property, which then went through the courts and a sale process. New owners purchased it, and it’s being renovated. Its new look will be inspired by a lot of old Doheny homes. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Owners Jeff Finn and Danny Hyde, who operate as Artist Guild Hotels, are restoring the property with an eye to its historical roots – it’s considered a historical resource under state law. Finn said its design is inspired by old Doheny homes, and the 30-room motel will look like an “eclectic Spanish Hacienda” when completed.

At 80 years old, the property, which sits across the sand from Doheny Beach on 1.5 acres at Pacific Coast Highway and Palisades Drive, was once considered a sterling early example of the Depression-era California motor court-style hotel and was a popular retreat for Hollywood celebrities.

But in its later years, it was nicknamed Capo’s Bates Motel and Flea Side Inn by its Capistrano Beach neighbors.

In 2017, after repeated attempts to have the inn cleaned up, the city red-tagged the property, citing dozens of code and safety violations, including illegal wiring and a lack of working fire alarms.

Six months later, fearing the historic inn would be torn down for a larger development, city officials convinced a judge to put the property in receivership and a plan was made to renovate the property – while maintaining its historical character – so that it could again offer affordable rooms for people visiting the beach and Dana Point area, an important issue to city officials.

After several delays in court over a period of four years, Artist Guild Hotels bought the property after a foreclosure, said Dana Point City Attorney Patrick Munoz. Finn and Hyde — who operate their boutique-style business out of San Clemente — agreed to fix the myriad of issues and preserve the property’s historical context.

The structural work on the property is largely done, but some finishing touches have been held up by supply chain issues, city officials said.

Residents who live above the property and walk by it regularly, said they have been watching its progress and are pleased that the void on the corner will now, hopefully, become a community attraction and a fun place to stop in for a cup of coffee before heading across PCH to the strand.

There was a “grandiose plan of creating a huge hotel there,” said Toni Nelson. “I’m glad that didn’t happen. We need more charm and less huge buildings covering up the iconic bluff and walkway down Palisades.”

Nelson pointed out a small area near the intersection that is right in front of the inn. She’d like to see the new owners buy it and turn it into a “cute park.”

“It would sure add a lot of charm,” she added, suggesting if Finn and Hyde don’t want it, the city could step up and turn it into a pocket park. “It would be a great asset to that corner.”

Councilmember Mike Villar, who represents the Capistrano Beach community, said he is also excited to see the project come together.

“That area has been such an eyesore for so long,” he said. “To know that it’s been repaired and is close to the original look will be so uplifting to the community.”

Villar said the property, in all its historical splendor, will be an attraction for many people.

“It provides accommodations unlike anything else in Dana Point,” he said. “The whole area will have a fresh look and, hopefully, it will help surrounding businesses and restaurants as well.”