Powerful surf draws sightseers to Northern California coast
PACIFICA -- As the storm surge has battered parts of the Bay Area coast, the focus has been on the damage done to seaside communities. But, with Saturday's blue skies, thousands of spectators flocked to the beaches to take in a display of raw power as nature reminded people who's really in charge.
With the storm breaking up, Cathy Scharetg traveled the two blocks from her Ocean Beach home to take in the show.
"I heard the rain all night and, when I saw the blue skies, I took a break for it and ran out and saw it. I saw it all. It's gorgeous!" she said.
They say you should never turn your back to the ocean but no one wanted to do that anyway. In fact, with huge waves pounding in -- some starting a half mile offshore -- it was hard to take your eyes off the show.
"I mean, when you look at it you kind of get mesmerized by just what you see, right? So man, it's a sight!" said Jack Chin.
He brought his whole family from Los Altos to see the best tourist attraction in town. The force of the pounding surf was turning sea water into what looked like whipped cream, wafting up onto the beach. It was enough to make even 11-year-old Tyson Chin think about his place in nature.
"Because it makes you realize how big everything is and, like, it makes me feel a lot smaller," he said.
Down the coast in Pacifica, they're used to big waves but this was something else. The effects of the waves could be seen while still a block from the beach, as a small wall of water poured down the street before disappearing into the storm drains.
"This is the wave that just came over the wall," said spectator Bobby Charles. "And these people, I was telling them 'run! run!, run!' And that wave is just chasing 'em down the street, you know?"
Closer to the beach a crowd watched the roaring surf from the edge of the Pacifica Municipal Pier, trying to get as close as possible, like moths to a flame.
"I know they tell us all to stay away from it," said Jim Connett from San Jose. "And then we are all drawn to it just because I think we're in awe of the power of it and it's really -- it's just spectacular!"
Lisa Morello spent two hours watching the show from the pier with water blasting high over her head. She lives in San Bruno but comes frequently to watch the big waves and it helped to know the right place to stand.
"Mostly on this side it just comes up and not over," she said. "But anywhere around the corners or over there, the people are getting soaked!"
There is something hypnotic about seeing so much force so close up. The water exploding twenty feet straight up as outgoing waves collide with those coming in.
"It's so beautiful." Morello said. "And it just really reminds you that Mother Nature isn't going to put up with anything from you!"
Back at Ocean Beach, as she watched the huge swells roll in, Cathy Scharetg thought there might be meaning in the timing of the storm.
"Look at where we are in time and space," she said. "We're at the end of the calendar year, we're beginning something new, we've had the first great rain of the season, it's the end of a year. So, I imagine it's a great way to wash out 2023 and welcome in 2024."
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SURF
Southern California's Ventura County issued a temporary evacuation warning Saturday for some coastal residents.
County officials warned that powerful waves, expected to reach up to 20 feet high, were forecast near a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway and the fire department told people to avoid coastal areas. Authorities lifted the evacuation warning in the afternoon.
Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder called this week's surf an "extraordinary event," the likes of which he had not previously seen in his 14 years living in the city.
