ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The Santa Cruz Wharf is one of those visual cues that tells you exactly where in the world you are. It's been around for more than a century. And even if you haven't visited the nearby boardwalk's roller-coaster and the Ferris wheel, you've probably seen the place on-screen. Dozens of movies have been filmed at the Santa Cruz seaside, from "Harold And Maude" to "Us." Well, today, the half-mile-long wharf is about 150 feet shorter. A massive winter storm ripped off the end yesterday, sending a public restroom and a restaurant adrift in the surf, along with three people who fell in but are now safe. Matt Huffaker is the city manager for Santa Cruz. Welcome.
MATT HUFFAKER: Happy to be here.
SHAPIRO: How serious is the damage to the pier?
HUFFAKER: Well, it was a catastrophic loss, as you mentioned. We lost about 150 feet of the tail-end of our wharf. This area was actually closed to the public, as we had construction crews that were actually in the process of repairing damage that occurred over the course of the last two winters. We've had really back-to-back high-surf and high-swell events that have really just battered our wharf over the last couple of years. And we were in the process of shoring up this area when we had yet another high-surf event that, unfortunately, as the nation has seen, completely removed 150 feet of the end of the wharf.
SHAPIRO: And so are events like this just going to become more common as climate change makes extreme weather events more extreme and more frequent?
HUFFAKER: They seem to be happening with greater frequency. Our teams have been doing everything they can to bolster our coastline, including areas like the wharf that are most vulnerable to these high-surf events. And despite those efforts, we're finding, year after year, that Mother Nature is surprising us with the power of these storms. It can be incredibly destructive. And, unfortunately, we experienced that again yesterday as we watched this portion fall into the ocean.
SHAPIRO: And so how are you recalibrating? I mean, I realize it's been a day, but there was a $4 million effort already underway to restore and reinforce the wharf in anticipation of major winter storms. Is that going to be enough? Are you even going to be able to maintain a century-plus-old structure like this in the face of bigger, more severe, more frequent storms?
HUFFAKER: Well, right now, our focus and priority, of course, is ensuring that the wharf is safe and ensuring that the many small businesses that depend on their livelihood and have been operating on the wharf for over 100 years can safely reopen. So we have engineers out on the wharf that are assessing the structural integrity, taking a close look at the current strength of the wharf and when and how we might be able to reopen. And I think the question of what the future looks like is one that we're going to have to really reflect on. What can we do to help ensure that the wharf continues to operate for future generations to come? It's a beloved institution, not just here in Santa Cruz, but for the millions of folks that come to visit Santa Cruz on an annual basis.
SHAPIRO: Can you tell us a little bit more about what this means to Santa Cruz and the people who live there? If, sort of, the iconic landmark of my hometown were ripped apart, I think I would have a very emotional reaction.
HUFFAKER: I think it's been very jarring for our community members. We had many, many folks out observing the conditions yesterday, as you might imagine, and it's a hard thing to process. So we're taking it one day at a time. And while we don't have a definitive timeline of when we might open, we hope to do so in the very near future.
SHAPIRO: Matt Huffaker is the city manager for Santa Cruz. Thank you so much for talking with us today.
HUFFAKER: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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