DEL MAR, CA — If you walk along the Del Mar Beach just in front of Coast Boulevard, you will see pile after pile of rock.
"This block here, that’s on the order of 2-tons. Had somebody been sitting there on the beach with a 2-ton rock coming down, they would be dead," said Geologist Pat Abbott, pointing out a section of rocks he says collapsed within the last six months.
An exceptionally rainy year in southern California coupled with a recent bluff collapse in San Clemente have increased concerns surrounding the security of bluffs in San Diego County.
“On those drought years you can still have cliff failures but they’re not as common as during the really wet, deep soaking years," said Abbott.
Alice McNally, 79, was born and raised in Del Mar. She likes to walk along the beach and found herself staring up at the bluffs on Thursday.
“I’ve never seen it this bad," said McNally, referring to the erosion.
The collapse in San Clemente forced a train to stop operations temporarily; that train is the same one that runs a few yards above the Del Mar bluffs actively collapsing.
Abbott says the need to move the train tracks further inland is "common sense" but will cost billions.
"Basically, you are fighting the inevitable. Mother nature will ultimately win," said Abbott.
Last year, Del Mar got $300 million from the state to go towards moving the train tracks off the bluffs in Del Mar.
