Another Orange County Cliff Is Cracking As High Tides Approach

DANA POINT, CA — Another crack has appeared above one of Orange County's most iconic surf spots, video footage shows.

In a video posted Wednesday, Craig Whetter — a videographer for Breaking Even TV — documents a fracture in the bluff overlooking Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point.

The split appears below the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, according to the video.

"There is a new crack in town ladies and gentlemen, and it lives right above that Salt Creek Point trail," Whetter said in the video. "It's right above a very, very popular walkway that people use all day... it's putting a lot of people in danger."

Just a few miles away, near Crystal Cove State Park, a much larger crack opened beneath Pacific Coast Highway in October.

According to Caltrans, the crack measures roughly 360 feet long and two feet wide. Its discovery prompted lane closures and a $10+ million Caltrans emergency stabilization project.

The discovery of the new cracks comes on the heels of a rainy forecast, with the National Weather Service predicting several rounds of rain and gusty weather in Orange County starting Friday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association also predicts another stretch of above-normal high tides from Nov. 22 through Nov. 27.

Local residents expressed concern to FoxLA about the appearance of the crack, and its proximity to the popular hiking trail.

"People use this walkway, so there's not much room as it is, and if there's a landslide, I don't know what they're going to do about redirecting traffic like that," Troy McDonald told FoxLA.