Big Storms in Laguna Beach: A Look Back at Historic Storms and Flooding
Laguna Beach is known for sunshine, beautiful beaches, and some of the prettiest stretches of coastline in Southern California.
But every once in a while, Mother Nature reminds us just how powerful the ocean can be.
After watching another major storm hit Laguna Beach recently, damaging beaches and affecting homes along our coastline, I started thinking about the big storms in Laguna Beach over the years.
And there have been quite a few.
I was born and raised in Laguna Beach, and some of these storms are part of my own memories. Others are stories I heard growing up. In fact, one of Laguna's most famous storms happened before I was born. But my mother remembered it.
From the tropical storm that destroyed Laguna's historic pier in 1939 to floods, landslides, El Niño and huge waves, storms have been shaping this little stretch of coastline for generations.
Here are some of the biggest storms in Laguna Beach history and a few of my own memories of them.
1939: The Storm That Destroyed Laguna Beach's Pier
People who visit Laguna Beach today sometimes wonder why a Southern California beach town doesn't have a pier.
We used to. Laguna's historic pier extended from the area below what is now the gazebo at Heisler Park toward Bird Rock. The original pier, dated to the late 1890s, was rebuilt and extended over the years.
Then came September 1939.
A powerful tropical storm struck Southern California, causing widespread flooding and damage throughout Orange County. In Laguna Beach, the storm finally destroyed the old pier, and it was never rebuilt. You can still look toward Bird Rock today and imagine where it once stood.
This particular piece of Laguna history has always felt personal to me. My mother was a little girl visiting her grandparents in Laguna Beach when the pier was still there, and she remembered its destruction.
When I was growing up, we would often be tide pooling in the area and look toward Bird Rock. She would tell me about the pier that once stretched out toward the rock and the storm that destroyed it.
As a child, I found it hard to imagine a pier there. Now, whenever I look at Bird Rock, I still think about my mother telling me that story.
Laguna would eventually have another pier at Aliso Beach. And decades later, another period of powerful storms would help bring that pier down, too.
The 1970s: Heavy Rain, Flooding, and Bluebird Canyon
Laguna Beach may sit beside the ocean, but some of its biggest storm dangers actually come from the hillsides and canyons behind town.
That's something longtime residents know well.
The steep terrain surrounding Laguna channels stormwater rapidly toward the ocean. When prolonged or intense rain falls on already saturated hillsides, flooding and landslides can become serious problems.
One of Laguna's best-known disasters occurred in Bluebird Canyon in 1978, when a major landslide damaged or destroyed numerous homes.
I don't specifically remember every storm or rain event from those years, but I do remember landslides in Bluebird Canyon on several occasions. Those events weren't just something we saw on the news. They affected people we knew.
One of our friends lost their home in a landslide in Laguna. They eventually moved to Dana Point, on what they hoped was considerably more solid ground.
When you've grown up surrounded by Laguna's beautiful hillsides, it's easy to forget that the same geology that gives the town so much of its character can also make it vulnerable.
The Laguna Lakes: Watching the Canyon Fill With Water
Another thing I remember from growing up here is watching the Laguna Lakes rise after heavy rain. Laguna Canyon looked different in the 1970s and 1980s. The road through the canyon ran much closer to the lakes, so as we drove, it was easy to see the water level rise and fall with the weather.
I remember the lakes flooding at least once or twice. And I wasn't imagining how dramatic those floods could be.
In March 1983, the Laguna Lakes overflowed their banks. Floodwater covered the road, parts of Laguna Canyon Road were damaged, and vehicles were washed into the flood-control channel. Water and mud eventually made their way into downtown Laguna Beach.
Laguna Canyon Road was reportedly closed for nearly three weeks while repairs were made. For those of us who remember the old canyon road and how close it ran to the lakes, it's not difficult to picture.
1995: One of Laguna Beach's Worst Floods
Then came 1995.
Two major January storms caused serious flooding in Laguna Beach. Dozens of homes and around 50 downtown businesses were damaged, and approximately 100 feet of the Main Beach boardwalk was ripped out. Downtown businesses were inundated with water, mud and debris.
There is still a marker in Laguna Canyon near Big Bend showing the high-water point associated with the 1995 flooding.
I've driven past that marker countless times, and it is astonishing to see just how far inland the effects of a major Laguna flood can extend. It's one of those small pieces of Laguna history that thousands of people probably drive past without ever noticing.
1997–98: El Niño Comes to Southern California
The winter of 1997–98 brought one of the strongest El Niño events on record to California, with powerful storms affecting communities throughout the state.
Laguna Beach experienced flooding during this period as well.
Ironically, this is one major Laguna weather event I didn't personally experience. I was living overseas during the 1997–98 El Niño winter, so while everyone back home was dealing with rain, waves, and flooding, I was watching California weather from afar.
That's one of the funny things about having lived overseas for so many years: there are little chapters of Laguna history that I experienced firsthand, and others that I completely missed.
El Niño and the End of the Aliso Beach Pier
The 1997–98 El Niño storms also marked the beginning of the end for another Laguna Beach landmark: the Aliso Beach Pier. I remember this pier well.
Built in the early 1970s, the concrete pier at Aliso Beach had already taken plenty of punishment from the ocean. El Niño storms in 1983 and 1986 caused extensive damage, and the pier later underwent a major reconstruction.
But the storms of 1997–98 proved too much. Powerful surf battered the pier, damaging its concrete pilings and leaving the structure unstable. It was closed to the public in March 1998, and later that year Orange County officials decided it was too badly damaged to save. Demolition followed, and by early 1999, the Aliso Beach Pier was gone.
For those of us who remember Aliso Beach with a pier, today's wide-open view looks very different.
Storms played a major role in the loss of both of Laguna’s piers, although 60 years apart.
Today, the Lost Pier Cafe marks the spot where generations of locals once walked out over the ocean.
2005: Bluebird Canyon Slides Again
Bluebird Canyon made national news again in 2005 when another major landslide damaged and destroyed homes. The California Geological Survey notes that the area had experienced significant rainfall in the months preceding the hillside's failure.
For longtime Laguna residents, it was a painful reminder that landslides aren't simply a thing of the town's distant past.
The combination of steep hillsides, geology, and periods of heavy rainfall means they remain part of living in this landscape.
When the Ocean Comes Under the Main Beach Boardwalk
Not every encounter with the ocean requires a historic storm.
Longtime Laguna residents have seen what can happen during particularly high tides and King Tides. Every now and then, water pushes underneath the boardwalk near the end of Broadway at Main Beach.
When the ocean is high enough, the boundary between "beach" and "downtown" can suddenly feel surprisingly small.
And that's really the geography of Laguna Beach in a nutshell. We have the Pacific Ocean on one side, steep hills and canyons on the other, and a small downtown sitting between them.
It's beautiful.
But it also means water has somewhere to go, and sometimes that somewhere is right through the middle of town.
Today, many businesses in the low-lying areas along Coast Highway and near Forest Avenue have storm gates and other flood-protection measures that can be put into place when severe weather threatens.
Laguna Beach and the Power of the Ocean
After a big storm, it's natural to focus on what's changed.
The sand may disappear from a beach.
Stairs can be damaged.
Cliffs erode.
Homes and businesses can suffer devastating losses.
And sometimes the coastline looks completely different than it did only a few days earlier.
But if you've lived in Laguna Beach long enough, or listened to the stories of people who lived here before you, you realize that storms have always been part of this place.
My mother watched Laguna lose its pier in 1939. As a child, I watched the Laguna Lakes rise and fall with the rains. I've seen the aftermath of landslides and known people who lost their homes. I've watched water come underneath the Main Beach boardwalk during unusually high tides.
And now another generation of Laguna residents is watching the ocean reshape parts of our coastline again.
That doesn't minimize the very real losses people experience during these events. Homes, businesses, and pieces of Laguna history can be damaged or lost.
But it does remind us that Laguna Beach has always existed at the meeting point of the ocean, the canyon, and the weather.
It's one of the things that makes this place extraordinarily beautiful. And occasionally, incredibly powerful.
Do You Remember a Big Laguna Beach Storm?
If you've lived in Laguna Beach for a long time, I'd love to hear what you remember.
Were you here for the floods of 1983 or 1995? Do you remember one of the Bluebird Canyon landslides? Did your parents or grandparents ever tell you stories about the 1939 storm and Laguna's old pier?
Send me a message or leave a comment on my Laguna Liz Facebook page.
I would love to continue adding local memories to this piece of Laguna Beach history.
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