SANTA CRUZ – A witness just 20 yards away recalled the moments when several huge waves crashed into the pilings. Santa Cruz WharfEnd of the pier and sending three people into the sea.
The Santa Cruz pier was hit by a wave, breaking some of the pile, before someone else could get it out.
“I was like, 'Oh no man, I think it could work,' and sure enough it did,” said Michael Brantley, a local man who witnessed the entire incident. “It happened really fast.”
Brantley and his 14-year-old son were fishing a short distance from where the accident occurred.
He noticed the pier shaking with every passing wave and started recording on his phone. Moments later, the unthinkable happened.
“It sounded like trees were breaking in a storm and then there was loud 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 under debris.
They were all rescued and unharmed.
The wreckage is now scattered across the San Lorenzo River and the coastline near Seabright Beach.
“My initial thought was, it was a blast,” said Robbie Pappas, manager of Cowles Surf Shop.
Pappas was among those who witnessed the collapse from the shore. They say the massive flooding that hit the California coast was unusually large, an event the region had not seen in decades.
“I would say it was in the top three biggest waves I've ever seen,” Pappas said.
Cowles Beach, located on the north side of the pier, is known as one of the best places in the world for beginner surfers. It turned into a danger zone.
“Even the best beginner break faces in the world were 5 to 8 feet,” Pappas said.
As the pier faces extensive repairs, people like Brantley feel lucky to leave safely.
“Had it escalated further, it would have been catastrophic,” Pappas said.
Engineers are assessing the structure of the pier to determine when it can be reopened. Its deadline is not clear.