DEL MAR — A 25-foot-wide section of bluff collapsed onto the beach between 9th and 10th streets in Del Mar over the weekend but does not appear to have caused any major damage, city officials said.
The bluff failure was discovered by beachgoers on the morning of April 21 and is believed to have occurred sometime in the early morning hours, according to Del Mar Chief Lifeguard and Community Services Director Jon Edelbrock.
Edelbrock confirmed that no one was injured in the collapse, which scientists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography believe occurred as a result of heavy rain, high tides, large surf, and irrigation.
“The City continues to monitor and work closely with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to receive regular updates from their Coastal Mapping and Research team, which continues to map the bluff areas and provide information and warnings related to potential failure areas,” Edelbrock said.
The city has since placed signage around the pile of debris, informing the public of the collapse and the risk of further failures in the bluff area. Edelbrock said the city does not clear the debris and instead relies on waves to wash away the sediment.
Coaster service was briefly paused along the blufftop train tracks on Sunday morning to examine the failure site, but service was able to resume quickly, according to the North County Transit District.
“Safety inspection protocols of the bluffs were completed and determined that it was safe to resume train service through Del Mar at maximum authorized speed,” said NCTD spokesperson Colleen Windsor.
In recent years, minor bluff failures have become more common along the coast in Del Mar, Torrey Pines and Encinitas. These incidents continue to raise concerns about the long-term stability of the train tracks in Del Mar and the safety of community members on the beach below.
In Encinitas, a deadly bluff collapse in 2021 killed three women and has resulted in an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family.
