Following the most recent round of high surf, a gate now keeps people off the entire Cayucos Pier as more pilings have broken off.
“What looked like a stick or piling floating in the water sideways and it lifted when a swell came through. A couple of minutes later it was up on the beach over here and then it went over in the creek right over here,” said Anthony Circosta of Cayucos.
Anthony Circosta tells Cayucos Community Reporter Sophia Villalba that he he saw a piling in the water during sunset on Monday.
“Hearing about what happened in Santa Cruz and people falling in the ocean, that’s really spooky. When you walk on these piers, you’re expecting it to be safe,” said Norma Desmond of Fresno.
Recent high surf caused the Cayucos pier’s full closure, which is a normal precaution.
“I am concerned because we love to walk on it,” Desmond said.
Norma Desmond says she visits Cayucos several times a year.
“I was really surprised that the pier was closed because I remember a few years ago it was in really bad shape and they closed it for quite a while to reconstruct it,” Desmond said.
Back in February, the end portion of the pier was closed after losing pilings from high surf. That led to a decision for county parks to shorten the pier to ensure no additional damage occurs.
“A lot of people coming into the water that maybe shouldn’t because they don’t have the experience. It’s always exciting to watch huge swells come in. It’s a huge spectacle,” Circosta said.
The Cayucos Pier attracts many people year-round.
“One of the reasons we do stay here in Cayucos is that we’re able to walk on the pier,” Desmond said.
Villalba has been following issues with the pier and missing pilings all year. She reached out to County Parks and was told they are looking at an option to recover the piling found in the creek within the next day or so. The pier will be fully closed until the surf advisory is over.
