Seal Beach Pier Reopens one Month After Fire

Seal Beach, CA —The Seal Beach Pier is open once again, nearly a month after an electrical fire at a closed restaurant at the end of the structure resulted in about $5 million in damage. At the Seal Beach City Council meeting Monday, June 15, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Ken Cruz stated that investigation confirmed the cause of the fire was due to electrical malfunction “beside the bait shop." Arson is no longer a suspected cause of the blaze, according to Cruz.

The pier, which was closed on May 20 following the fire, was reopened on Tuesday, June 14. According to the City of Seal Beach, it is the second longest wooden pier in southern California.

READ: Fire Closes Seal Beach Pier

Since the closing of Ruby's Diner in 2013, three vacant buildings that once housed the restaurant, a storage shack and a bait shop have been boarded up.

Patrick Gallegos, the city's administrative manager, told City Council members that about 8,000 square feet of the damaged section needs to be rebuilt. Demolition will begin in two weeks and should be completed in five weeks, Gallegos said. Repairs to the pier will take eight to 12 months.

The pier is owned by the state and maintained by Seal Beach. The city insures the pier with the Joint Powers Insurance Authority, which specializes in public entities.

During demolition and repairs, the pier will occasionally be closed to the public for safety concerns, Gallegos said.

“We understand the economic importance of the pier, especially over summer,'' he said.

The city's website will post hours or days that the pier will need to be closed, Gallegos said.

Mayor Sandra Massa-Lavitt agreed that the pier is important to attract shoppers and diners to Main Street.

“People stay longer when the pier is open,'' she said. “We want people walking around and looking in store windows.''

For more information, visit the City of Seal Beach's website.