Large swells batter Santa Cruz coastline, force wharf closure

In Santa Cruz with more on that story for us, Jesse. Heather, good evening to you. And this is the calm after and before the storm. We have sunny conditions as the sun is starting to set. But that belies the dangers that will come with the next storm that has officials here closing this pier, this wharf, starting at 10 o'clock tonight. Friday, the force of nature on display along the Santa Cruz Wharf. It's gnarly. I've never really felt anything like this, especially, I mean, we don't have storms like this really in L.A. One person's inclement weather is another person's perfect timing for bird watching amid high winds and hard rain. A lot of these winds and, you know, these crazy waves, they push all these birds up close to the shore here. So it's kind of a goldmine, like in this weather for shorebirds and seabirds. Santa Cruz fire officials say conditions will deteriorate Friday night through Saturday. Stay out of the water, stay away from the cliff edges. We have a significant, highly dangerous swell coming to our local coastline. We're expecting waves up to 20 feet along our local beaches, even larger on the north coast. The Parks and Rec Department, which oversees the iconic half-mile-long wharf, is closing the span starting at 10 o'clock Friday night and lasting until 5 a.m. Sunday. Mike Gozzi says this move is made to keep people safe. The century-old structure, which saw a 150-foot section collapse into the ocean during a storm surge in 2024, is structurally sound. The wharf is in the ocean. It's directly in the direction of those swells and we want to be mindful of our rescue teams. Folks would love to lean over the rail and take a photo and that poses a serious risk for one the public but then also our marine rescue teams having to navigate rescuing those folks. The closure means one less day of business for the 20 businesses that operate on the wharf and no opportunity for the curious and adventurous to come and see The wrath of nature. It's cleansing. It's very atmospheric and moody. It feels good, doesn't it? No. It really doesn't. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. It's her birthday and she loves the rain, so it's a nice little gift. It's also a gift for our watershed, the lakes, because we need to store up water for when it's not rainy season. Remember, the wharf closes at 10 o'clock tonight. It will be closed until 5 o'clock Sunday morning. We're live in Santa Cruz. Jesse Gary, KTVU Fox 2 News. We'll go back over the mountain, cross the bay to Oakland and you.