California is shaken when a severe storm hitted California and traps the state’s most iconic trees on REFUGIO STATE BEACH.
Several majestic palm trees that usually flank the Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara have come crashing down in recent days. Images show how the massive, 100-year-old trees were completely uprooted as they fell into the ocean.
Local officials say a combination of factors caused the trees to fall: several years of beach erosion, combined with powerful high tides and oversaturated soils from the back-to-back atmospheric rivers that brought heavy rains and high winds across the state.
Dena Bellman, district superintendent of California State Parks’ Channel Coast district, said officials have tagged several more trees at the beach that they say are at high risk of falling, especially with a new round of rains hitting California.
Due to this threat, the park is now temporarily closed to the public.