Encinitas beach reopens after cliff collapse

ENCINITAS - Officials reopened Grandview Surf Beach on Saturday, Aug. 3 after yesterday's deadly cliff collapse.

Three beachgoers were killed Friday and another two were injured when a sea bluff collapsed onto them on a stretch of ocean shoreline near Batiquitos Lagoon.

The failure happened shortly before 3 p.m. in the Leucadia neighborhood of Encinitas, just north of a lifeguard station, Encinitas fire and lifeguard officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

Four search dogs went through the site of the collapse late Friday and officials determined that no more people had been found, Encinitas Fire Deputy Chief Robert Ford said.

The names of the three victims killed in the collapse have not been released. Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles said he could not elaborate on the two injured people who were taken to hospitals. Two people walked away uninjured after the collapse, Giles said.

A lifeguard was in the tower next to the site of the cliff collapse and immediately began to rescue victims. Some good Samaritans helped the lifeguard in the rescue effort, Giles said. The lifeguard tower has since been moved away from the part of the cliff that collapsed.

Experts in geology will continue assessing the coastline for any potential collapse threats. Geotech soil engineers said Friday's failure was an isolated incident, Giles said, and unrelated to the recent earthquakes in Southern California. The failure isn't affecting structures at the top of the cliffs, he said.

"Our coastline is a beautiful area, but the coastline is eroding,'' Giles said.

The beach reopened to the public before noon Saturday, with signs posted to the north and south of the cliff collapse asking the public to keep out of the "active area,'' Giles said.

City officials recommended that "given the apparent natural bluff instability, beachgoers should avoid areas near or under the bluffs and keep a recommended safe distance of 25 to 40 feet.''