Debris hits Santa Barbara waterfront parking lot again from a strong storm surge

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The winter ocean surge, with large amounts of debris, has been a problem for the Santa Barbara Waterfront Department once again.

This winter, the combination of high and intense tides, along with an ocean full of runoff items, has resulted in parking spots covered in debris from the Harbor West beach bathrooms to the harbor boat yard.

The lot was closed off Tuesday morning when many of the parking spaces were temporarily covered with whatever the ocean left behind during the pre-dawn surge. It's mostly drift wood, but there's also been something resembling a large "power pole" in the mix as well.

Leadbetter Beach parking remains open along with the spaces by the Shoreline Cafe.

It has happened before during the winter season, requiring the staff to use heavy equipment to remove it. They have also built up a sand berm in front of the parking area to hold off some of the waves. That has disappeared in the latest tidal surge.

The coastline in general has taken a harsh hit in many areas. That includes the bluffs and traditional sites for beach recreation.

Some of the parks in the waterfront area have also been swamped and the amount of water, in the form of a pond, has been an attraction for shorebirds.

Santa Barbara Resident Suzanne Han was checking out the area between the harbor and Leadbetter Beach and said, "well I did see on the news last night that it was flooded but I didn't know it was this flooded!"

Nearby a beach walker, Bill Smart said, "the high tide this must have been a real show."

Most of this debris came gushing down the creeks and then pushed back on shore by the aggressive wave action and ended up in the parking lot.

"There's so many trees and what not where all those guys surf all the time there's so much of big things washed up over there," said Han.

Smart said, "anybody who surfs during the middle of a storm, look at the logs, you can be going up to a top of a wave and have a telephone pole  come down  your face and that would be bad!"

What caught many people off guard was a small concrete wall at the end of the parking stalls. It is now exposed.   Normally the area is covered in sand an even people who’ve lived in the area a long time said, they've never seen it before. "I've been here since the 70's and I've never seen it," said Smart.

The beach has been  eroded away and it will take weeks for nature to replenish the area again." It's a mess and  I feel bad for the people that like to come here especially on the weekends," said Han.

This look to the debris battered parking lot is not new this winter season.   During a previous storm it was also covered in seaweed and driftwood and it took heavy equipment to clean it up.

Nearby the iconic Yacht Club has found a way to avoid peril even in this season's hardest storms.  "It they hardened  the underneath of the yacht club and it's good for 50 years," said Smart.

In Goleta, heavy equipment is moving dirt and silt out of the creeks around the Santa Barbara Airport. That area washes out to Goleta Beach park. If it fills, that can overtake a part of the airport runways. The sediment is taken to the shoreline. The airport has had flooding issues this winter with two runway and terminal closures.

The flooded area of Channel Drive in Montecito Monday has drained and dried off. It was open today with many people back in the popular area to see the surf, surfers and enjoy the break in the storm.