A fresh bluff collapse has shut down access to Grandview Beach in Encinitas — at nearly the same stretch of cliff where three members of one family were killed in 2019.
The latest failure occurred Thursday near the staircase at Grandview Street and Neptune Avenue. No injuries were reported, but the city closed public access within roughly 300 feet north and south of the stairs because more sections could give way. Encinitas officials said relentless swell and wave action was the primary cause.
San Diego State University geology professor Dr. Pat Abbott said the failure was essentially impossible to predict.
“For something like this one here, I would basically call it unpredictable,” Abbott told ABC 10News. He compared it directly with the 2019 disaster: “This section right here collapsed in exact same way and killed three people … No warning whatsoever. 100% Mother Nature.”
That Aug. 2, 2019 collapse killed Anne Clave, 35, her mother Julie Davis, 65, and her aunt Elizabeth Charles, 62, who were gathered at the beach with family. A roughly 30-by-25-foot slab of sandstone broke free and crushed the group from behind.
The new collapse comes during an already punishing season for California’s coast. Hurricane Marie sent powerful surf into Southern California earlier this month, accelerating erosion and damaging beaches and infrastructure. Nearby Carlsbad has declared a local emergency to stabilize an eroding bluff ahead of what forecasters expect could be a very strong El Niño winter.
Related: Watch 20-Foot Backwash Waves Destroy Southern California Beach (Video)
Abbott said that combination could make bluff failures more frequent.
“If the El Niño continues to develop as we’re anticipating, I would definitely expect a higher frequency of occurrence of these things because of all that added rainfall,” he said.
And the Pacific isn’t finished. Hurricane Polo exploded into a Category 5 storm Tuesday, with dangerous surf threatening Mexico. Whether its swell reaches California remains uncertain, but after Marie, coastal communities are watching closely.
At Grandview, the warning is simple: stay away from the cliffs. This coastline has failed here before — with deadly consequences.
Related: Hurricane Polo Could Send Another Big Swell Toward Southern California
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