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Capistrano Beach Gets Emergency Sand After Rachel's Surf Damages Homes
OC Parks is placing up to 9,000 cubic yards through October 30; parts of the beach may be closed while trucks work.
OC Parks is placing up to 9,000 cubic yards of sand at Capistrano Beach in Dana Point, with construction scheduled from October 12 through October 30. The sand comes from a quarry in San Juan Capistrano. Parts of the beach may be closed to the public while the work is under way.
The work comes after surf from Tropical Storm Rachel hit the south Orange County coast hard. The City of Dana Point said Monday that seven homes in the Capistrano Bay District had been red-tagged and 13 yellow-tagged, with two demolished and one more scheduled for demolition, local station ABC7 reported. Erosion has also taken out a parking lot and threatened the rail line along the beach.
The California Coastal Commission approved the sand as a stopgap until a longer-term Capistrano–Doheny shoreline project is built. It is not the first try: the county placed 20,000 cubic yards here in 2024, and that sand was largely gone by fall 2025.
For surfers and beachgoers, expect trucks, equipment and closed sections at Capistrano Beach Park, 35005 Beach Road, through the end of the month, and stay clear of eroded bluffs and damaged structures along Beach Road. Today's Weather Service beach hazards statement for Orange County also warns of minor tidal flooding and dangerous swimming conditions through 2 p.m.
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