SANTA CRUZ – A witness, just 20 meters away, recounted the moments when several massive waves hit the piles of the Santa Cruz Piersending the end of the pier and three people into the ocean.
The Santa Cruz pier was hit by a wave, which broke part of the pile before another one removed it.
“I said, ‘Oh no boy, I think this could go,’ and sure enough it did,” said Michael Brantley, a local who witnessed it all. “It happened so fast.”
Brantley and his 14-year-old son were fishing just yards from where the collapse occurred.
He noticed the dock swaying with each passing wave and began recording on his phone. Moments later, the unthinkable happened.
“It sounded like the trees were blowing up in a storm and then thunder and when we looked back there was nothing,” Brantley said.
The City of Santa Cruz confirmed Tuesday morning that about 150 feet of the pier collapsed into the water, trapping three people in the wreckage.
All were rescued and unharmed.
Debris is now scattered along the shoreline near the San Lorenzo River and Seabright Beach.
“My initial thought, it was a blast,” said Robby Pappas, the manager of Cowell’s Surf Shop.
Pappas was one of those who witnessed the sinking from the shore. He says the massive swell that hit the California coast was unusually large, an event the area hasn’t seen in decades.
“I’d say those were the three biggest waves I’ve ever seen,” Pappas said.
Cowell Beach, located on the north side of the pier, is known as one of the best spots in the world for beginner surfers. It became a danger zone.
“Even the best beginner break in the world had 5- to 8-foot faces,” Pappas said.
As the pier faces major repairs, people like Brantley feel lucky to have walked away unscathed.
“If it had gone further, it would have been a bigger catastrophe,” Pappas said.
Engineers are evaluating the pier’s structure to determine when it might reopen. The timing of this is unclear.