El Morro PCH Crack Faces Its Toughest Test as Record Coastal Waters Rise
A 360-foot crack threatens PCH at El Morro, where emergency slope work faces another test from elevated seas, surf and king tides.
The central question at El Morro is whether the slope supporting Pacific Coast Highway can hold through the next round of high water and surf. A fracture stretching as much as 360 feet along the bluff has already triggered traffic restrictions and emergency stabilization work. With another set of extreme king tides approaching, the protection crews have installed faces a demanding test.
The crack, which Caltrans says is up to two feet wide, sits above a slope being worn by waves. The highway runs beside the coast near Crystal Cove State Park and Laguna Beach, so deterioration below the road threatens more than the bluff itself: it puts pressure on a major coastal route. Crews are working to stabilize the hillside before winter storms bring additional strain.
That work is taking place as unusually high coastal water levels add to the challenge. NOAA says El Niño-related Kelvin waves are contributing to record readings along California’s coast. These traveling ocean disturbances raise sea levels, making ordinary tides and powerful surf more consequential at vulnerable stretches of shoreline.
High water raises the stakes
In late October, gauges in Los Angeles, San Diego Bay, Santa Barbara and La Jolla recorded their highest water levels on record. Los Angeles averaged 1.3 feet above predicted levels during the final week of the month, NOAA data showed. Those readings provide a measure of the conditions facing the coast, though they don’t by themselves determine how much wave force will reach the base of the El Morro bluff.
For the slope, the combination matters: elevated water can give waves more reach, while surf supplies the force that wears away at the cliff. The danger is especially acute when high tides and larger swell coincide. The source of the current concern is clear; the scale of any further damage will depend on how those conditions line up at El Morro.
Related: Watch: Seawall Collapses at Iconic SoCal Hotel Amid Massive Surf
Local surfer and skimboarder Blair Conklin has recorded the evolving damage and the response around the highway, including in his latest YouTube update. Earlier, he warned that part of PCH could “crumble into the ocean.” His footage offers a close view of the site, while the measurements and water-level records show why the work is drawing attention beyond the immediate stretch of road.
Temporary protection meets a longer test
Caltrans has secured $4 million in initial emergency funding and begun a multiphase stabilization project. The measures include efforts to shield the slope from further wave erosion. District 12 Director Lan Zhou said protecting people traveling on the highway is the agency’s top priority. Traffic restrictions are already in place as the work proceeds.
Conklin said the trap bags on the bluff’s south end appeared to be blocking waves from reaching the cliff’s base. That’s an encouraging sign about how the barriers are performing under the conditions seen so far. But the next set of king tides could bring a different combination of water level and surf, and he cautioned that the real test is still ahead.
“It will be fascinating to see what happens at the end of the month when we have those King Tides again,” Conklin said. “If we have any swell paired with that, it’s going to be very interesting to see how far waves can wash up to the base of that sea cliff.”
The key question is not simply whether the barriers can keep waves off the bluff during one stretch of rough conditions. It’s whether the stabilization work can limit further erosion when high tides and swell arrive together, while crews address a long fracture beneath a road that is already under traffic restrictions. No result from that upcoming test is known yet.
Related: Record-Breaking Tides Flood California Beach Towns as El Niño Kelvin Wave Hits (Video)
For now, El Morro is both an urgent repair site and a visible measure of the pressure on Southern California’s coastline. The crack’s length, the elevated readings across multiple coastal gauges and the looming king tides make the next period a consequential one for PCH. Whether the barriers hold up through that combination will help show how much protection the slope can provide when waves reach the foot of the cliff.
