Debris removal begins this month on charred Oceanside Pier (original) (raw)

Removal of the charred buildings and planks left by last April’s fire at the end of the Oceanside Pier will begin this month and continue for about 90 days, a city official said.

Crews will use a crane and trucks for the job, which requires some brief, temporary closures of the pier to get equipment out to the end of the 1,954-foot-long wooden structure. The damaged end of the pier has been fenced off since the fire, but most of the Oceanside icon is open for foot traffic.

“People might not see much demo work out there until after the Super Girl Pro event (Sept. 20-22),” said Terry Gorman Brown, a senior management analyst for the city.

“The reason is that they need to bring out scaffolding to build a ‘subfloor’ below the damaged section to catch any debris that might otherwise fall into the water during the removal work,” Gorman Brown said in an email Tuesday.

“Plus, the crew needs the lot next to the pier to stage equipment,” she said. “So prep work is starting now and the main bulk will start after the event Sept. 21.”

More than 140 female surfers are expected to compete in the Super Girl Pro, which includes live musical entertainment, women’s beach volleyball and soccer tournaments, professional skateboarding and more.

The city awarded a contract for the debris removal to Jilk Heavy Construction, Inc., a company that previously completed maintenance and improvements on the Oceanside Pier. Jilk also has worked on other ocean piers and built more than 50 railroad bridges in Southern California.

Old or faulty wiring beneath the pier probably caused the blaze, officials said. A final report on the incident is yet to be released.

The fire destroyed a long-vacant Ruby’s Diner and the short-lived Brine Box seafood kiosk. Only a few blackened timbers remain from the buildings. Firefighters initially feared the blaze would consume the entire pier, but quick action by multiple agencies saved more than 90 percent of the structure.

Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons said in May that repair costs could total more than $17 million. So far, there’s no decision on whether the restaurant will be replaced.

The wooden part of the pier is the sixth version, built in 1986 to replace one destroyed by storms. The concrete approach to the pier, known as the Pier View Way Bridge, was built in 1927.

Originally Published: September 15, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.