The broken supportive pilings from Malibu Pier that were knocked loose last weekend following storm surges from Hurricane Marie have been cleared, according to State Parks officials.
“The LA County Lifeguard Baywatch boat was able to remove all the pilings south of the [Malibu] Pier this morning,” California State Parks District Superintendent Craig Sap wrote in an email to the Malibu Times on Friday.
Thirteen pilings were swept away from the pier Tuesday night, Aug. 26, when swells reached over 15 feet at Surfrider Beach. For the next week, residents and local business owners were able to locate many of the supports washed up across the beach south of the pier, but it was not until Friday, Sept. 5 that crews were out to remove them.
On Thursday, Sap reported that five pilings were located on the beach outside of a private residence on PCH south of the pier, along with an additional piling “in front of ‘Nikita’ next to Nobu.”
“The six pilings that we towed to the Coast Guard mooring last Tuesday remain secured there,” Sap wrote on Thursday.
That accounts for 12 pilings. The 13th and apparently final one was located “in the Malibu Road area” according to Sap on Friday morning, but as of Friday afternoon was not yet removed.
“Baywatch was contacted and they said they would go by there and see if they could remove it,” Sap wrote Friday, “However, they said it might not be possible with the current surf and tide conditions and it might have to wait until tomorrow.”
The surf and tide conditions Sap mentioned likely are caused by rough water from Tropical Cyclone Norbert, which has caused the National Weather Service to issue another high surf advisory for Malibu this weekend.