ENCINITAS — Grandview Beach access will remain closed for the foreseeable future following a bluff collapse late last week.
The bluff failure occurred just north of the staircase leading to the beach. No injuries were reported.
Jessica Gilera, a spokesperson for the city of Encinitas, said the city learned of the bluff failure early Sept. 18 and took “immediate action to secure the area including fencing around the beach entry point and signage.”
The city is also concerned about the potential for additional bluff failures within 300 feet north and south of the staircase, prompting the closure.
“Crews are actively working to address the situation,” the city’s closure notice states.
California State Parks maintains the area north of the staircase where the bluff collapsed.
“At this time, we do not have an estimate for when we can safely reopen entry to the beach at Grandview and are directing beachgoers to avoid the area and access the beach at Beacons or Ponto Beaches,” Gilera said.
Bluff failures have become more common in recent years, raising ongoing concerns about coastal erosion and public safety near the base of the bluffs.
The previous major bluff collapse at Grandview occurred Aug. 2, 2019, when a roughly 30-foot section of sandstone broke loose and fell onto a family gathered on the beach. The collapse killed Encinitas residents Julie Davis, 65, and her daughter, Anne Davis Clave, 35, along with Davis’ sister, Elizabeth Charles, 62, of San Francisco.
The victims’ family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Encinitas, the state and two private entities, alleging that groundwater seepage, poor drainage and irrigation practices, nearby development and other conditions had weakened the bluff. The city initially attributed the collapse to the natural erosion common along California beaches.
The city has experienced other bluff failures in recent years. On May 2, 2022, a reactivated landslide at Beacon’s Beach sent soil toward the beach, created numerous cracks in the slope and damaged the switchback trail. No injuries or structural damage were reported, but the city closed the trail and parking lot while crews completed repairs and officials monitored the bluff.
The trail and parking lot reopened in late June 2022 after crews repaired the damage, and the city said it would continue monitoring the bluff with Scripps, California State Parks and the California Coastal Commission.
In nearby Del Mar, a bluff collapsed earlier this year near Dog Beach. No injuries were reported.
