Beach Erosion Woes Continue At Capistrano, Doheny Beach; PHOTOS

CAPISTRANO BEACH, CA — After the pounding surf and pouring rain, a lone yellow sign stood telling all to be aware: flooded. One only needs to look to the sharp relief of shoreline to know that things at Capistrano And Doheny Beaches are much worse than they ever imagined.

"The Doheny south parking lot has been closed for months, and the pavement is still just crumbling away," resident Toni Nelson, Patch contributor and community advocate through the non-profit group Capo Cares.

At least three palms appear to be in danger of toppling and the walkway along the “hole in the fence” path to Doheny State Beach is crumbling and undermined.

Further down the paved lot, orange pylons and caution tape are the only barriers between passers-by and the severe erosion that has eaten the shoreline by several feet. The famed Doheny palms list toward the shore even as the parking infrastructure continues to erode.

At its neighboring beach, resident Joe Babakanian and his dog “Bowie” came out to view the damage. Both are daily visitors to Capistrano Beach.

On Friday, they watched the surf from the remaining section of the boardwalk. There are only so many places that Babakanian can traverse from his chair.

After the rain, the surf was "filthy" from storm runoff. Swimming or surfing was out of the question.

No matter what efforts Orange County Parks crews put forth, there is no matching the mighty Pacific as storm surge wreaks havoc at Doheny and at the beleaguered Capo Beach Park.

"The sidewalk is now buckling and leaning at the main entrance and may soon share the fate of two other major sections that collapsed in the past few months," Nelson said. "Chunks of concrete have eroded and heavy concrete benches and trash receptacles have been tossed into the storm-damaged parking lot like toys."

OC Parks workers are on scene as County management continues talks with the Coastal Commission to determine emergency abatement measures and long term plans for the highly popular and now threatened section of park.

Patch talked with local residents at the beach this morning who expressed shock and sadness at the devastation.

“It just gets worse and worse,” said Capistrano Beach resident Stacy King as she recalled earlier efforts at sand replenishment by the County. Thousands of tons of sand dredged from the harbor was deposited on Capo Beach three years ago, only to disappear months later.

Her neighbor, Georgina Williams said “It’s simply heartbreaking. We’re losing our beautiful little beach.”

Photos, courtesy Toni Nelson