A little over a month ago, during high tide, huge chunks of the bluff at Fleener Creek Overlook flaked off in powdery sheets, falling nearly 100 feet to Centerville Beach, where waves lapped at the accumulating mountains of fallen silt and dirt. The collapse, which took a big section of parking lot with it, sent people running, as seen in dramatic drone video. The county later declared a state of emergency.On Friday, a smaller version of this natural drama took place at the Bay Street parking lot on the Samoa Peninsula. The pounding waves of high tide, which have been eating away at the dune slope to form temporary coastal cliffs up and down the peninsula, undercut the asphalt until a big sections fell onto the beach below.In response, the County of Humboldt closed the popular parking spot, commonly called “the T,” and the Samoa Peninsula Fire District issued a public safety warning, urging people to urge extreme caution on all local beaches due to the steep and still-eroding banks.Keep Reading
