Global Courant
California’s historic wet winter caused at least $210 million in damage to state parks during storms in January and March, with a popular state beach near Santa Cruz accounting for nearly half of that damage, according to a state report issued to federal officials.
The damage estimate was included in a report submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency by the California Department of Parks and Recreation as part of the state’s effort to secure federal aid to make repairs to the parks.
Of the state’s 280 parks, 85 were listed in the report, which estimated damage from January’s storms alone at $187 million. Another storm event in March resulted in at least $23 million in damage, but that estimate is expected to rise.
Of the storm-damaged parks, 15 had estimates of more than $1 million each in damage, with the highest numbers concentrated on the central coast.
Seacliff State Beach, near Santa Cruz, suffered more than $100 million in damage after storms ravaged the pier in January, according to the report.
In addition to destroying the pier, January storms “destroyed almost all of the seawall and much of the backfill on which the campground was built,” state parks wrote in February. “Many of the underground facilities have been lost to the sea, as has the pavement of the car park.”
California endured 31 atmospheric river storms this winter, some of the wettest and coldest in recorded history. Storms have killed people, stranded others and damaged infrastructure.
Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument in San Luis Obispo County saw more than $19 million in damage, and El Capitán State Beach in Santa Barbara County had nearly $12 million.
At Hearst Castle, rain caused flooding and broken power lines, forcing the memorial to close in mid-January, according to the San Luis Obispo Grandstand. At El Capitán, storms have damaged water pipes, some of which have yet to be repaired, the state parks website.
“State Parks has already completed some repairs,” said Jorge Moreno, a spokesperson for California State Parks, including “debris clearance, emergency repairs, or protection of structures.”
“The department takes a phased approach to projects requiring long-term repairs, with some work potentially taking up to five years to complete,” he said.
It’s unclear when FEMA will respond to the state’s report and what funding may be allocated for park repairs.
The January damage list will be updated as the parks department continues to assess and repair, Moreno said.
“FEMA has not yet closed the event and additional counties are still being announced,” Moreno said, adding that a similarly detailed list of damaged parks will become available once the event is closed.
