Huge crack spotted next to PCH in elite California beach town: ‘Escalating quicker’

A massive crack near Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach is raising fears that one of Southern California’s most iconic coastal roads could be inching toward the ocean.

The fracture was spotted in the bluff below PCH near El Morro, just north of Laguna Beach, after weeks of heavy surf, high tides and hurricane-driven swells tore into the already battered coastline.

Caltrans has closed one southbound lane of PCH from Irvine Cove to Reef Point Drive for emergency work, a stretch that runs near Crystal Cove State Park.

The fracture was spotted in the bluff below PCH near El Morro, just north of Laguna Beach, after weeks of heavy surf, high tides and hurricane-driven swells tore into the already battered coastline. Youtube/@Skidkids

Laguna Beach local Blair Conklin, who captured the damage in a YouTube video, said the situation appeared to be getting worse fast.

“This problem seems to be escalating quicker than people thought,” Conklin wrote in the video’s description.

The video shows a deep crack cutting through the cliffside just beneath the road, with brown, churned-up water below at the bluff continues to erode.

“The cliff side right here this close to PCH is falling… that’s why all this water is so brown,” Conklin told Surfer.

“They just closed part of one lane on PCH, and my guess is becuase the cliff is eroding so bad… it might be at risk of having part of PCH crumble into the ocean.

Caltrans has closed one southbound lane of PCH from Irvine Cove to Reef Point Drive for emergency work, a stretch that runs near Crystal Cove State Park. Youtube/@SkidKids

Conklin estimated that crack is roughly 10 feet from the road, according to Surfer, and warned that a major collapse could happen within days.

Sky5 footage from KTLA also showed the fractured bluff Tuesday afternoon, with the crack visible below the roadway after months of pounding surf.

Nearby, California State Parks temporarily closed parts of Crystal Cove State Park and san Onofre State Beach because of damage from high surf and coastal erosion following Tropical Storm Rachel.

At Crystal Cove, 26 historic beachfront cottages were also evacuated as a precaution after officials reported “significant coastal erosion and infrastructure damage.”

The damage comes as Southern California faces an ugly mix of El Niño conditions, high tides, a Kelvin wave and hurricane swell.

In his video description, Conklin said the combination “has all led to the destruction” seen along Laguna Beach.

NOAA says El Niño continues to strengthen, with a strong-to-very strong event likely through January to March 2027.

California has already declared a state of emergency ahead of the potentially historic winter storm season.

In Laguna Beach, the danger is already cracking open beside PCH.

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