SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An apparently harmless sea bluff collapse was discovered at Black's Beach Friday.
The cliff failure off the 2800 block of Torrey Pines Scenic Drive was reported at about 2:30 p.m., according to the San Diego Police Department and city Fire-Rescue Department.
Happening now - @SDLifeguards and @SanDiegoPD handling a cliff collapse at Black's Beach. Please avoid the area. More info to follow. #cliffcollapse pic.twitter.com/DZitWD7fk5
— SDFD (@SDFD) January 20, 2023
“I was scared but I got outta there. I was safe," said Phinney Cole.
Cole was behind the footage.
He says he left his stuff right under where the bluff fell.
“Yeah, I gathered all my things. I actually left my car keys behind and found them about an hour later so I got lucky there," he explained.
While cole had a close view from the beach, surfers watched as the cliff collapsed.
"That whole mountain shifted," explained Matthew Craig.
Craig said he’d seen bluff’s fall before but said this time was continuous.
"For about ten minutes, there were just chunks of rock falling, and then at some point, this huge column just started collapsing onto the beach. You could see it all washed out onto the beach and it fell into the sand and the sand piled up 30 feet high because all the sand got pushed up from the beach," said Craig.
Geologist Pat Abbott said a bluff collapse isn’t uncommon right after a series of showers.
"This is a time of heightened gravity pole for failure because it's winter time, and we’ve had a lot of rain. The ground is saturated. It’s winter time there’s less sand on the beach, which means it’s easier for the waves to hit the cliffs. We also have the highest tides of the year right now," said Abbott.
Abbott said the last time there was a big bluff collapse at black’s beach was during this time of year decades ago.
This is the aftermath of the collapse from January of 1982.
Abbott said this won’t be the last we see of the cliff collapse in the area.
“I think it could continue while we’re talking right now. I could continue some more in the next few days as well because the falling away of material par of that material that’s there is actually supporting the cliff. So, when some fall away that means there are some other steep parts that are less supported than they were," said Abbott.
Geologists said more are on the way so it’s important to steer clear of the cliffs and be safe.
It was not immediately clear when the landslide occurred and how large an area was affected.
There were no reports of injuries or structural damage, SDPD Officer David O'Brien said.
