Access to Beacon’s Beach in Encinitas has been closed after bluff movement was detected in an ongoing landslide, the city announced Wednesday, Jan. 10.
The slide is historic in nature, meaning it is of natural origin and ongoing, according to the city. It’s the second time in nearly as many years that the slide has activated and required repairs.
“Landslides are a type of ‘mass wasting,’ which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity,” the U.S. Geological Survey explains on its landslide awareness website.
The northern portion of the slide started moving westward down the slope sometime Monday morning, according to a city statement. An access trail to the beach is closed and several cracks are visible.
A fence is in place to prevent access to the trail, which will be closed until further notice. City officials stated that the parking lot above the bluff may be closed if conditions worsen.
In May 2022, the city noted that movement at the time was related to a large landslide that occurred during heavy winter storms in 1982-83, which damaged stairways at the site. Additional movement was observed in 1990.
