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"slug": "a-viral-santa-cruz-beach-rescue-previews-whats-to-come-officials-say",
"title": "A Viral Santa Cruz Beach Rescue Previews What’s to Come, Officials Say",
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"headTitle": "A Viral Santa Cruz Beach Rescue Previews What’s to Come, Officials Say | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-cruz\">teenage lifeguard\u003c/a> in chest-deep, white water locks his arms around a boy as the ocean behind them keeps pushing in. Bystanders edge closer. The lifeguard waves them off. A second guard reaches the pair, and the two of them carry the boy out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A roughly two-minute video of a dramatic rescue on Saturday at Seabright Beach has drawn millions of views and, on Tuesday, an invitation to the \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/2082159711852298494?s=20\">White House\u003c/a> from President Donald Trump, who said he planned to give the 16-year-old a “High Civilian Honor.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Santa Cruz officials would rather people treat the video as a warning for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092689/a-bay-area-heat-wave-is-coming-along-with-beach-hazards-and-wildfires\">the warm weekend ahead\u003c/a>, with inland temperatures forecast to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093013/cool-coast-hot-inland-bay-area-heat-this-weekend-will-depend-on-where-you-live\">approach 100 degrees on Saturday\u003c/a> in the interior East Bay and North Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093238\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crowd enjoys the warm weather at Santa Cruz Beach, in Santa Cruz, California, on July 30, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The heat will send people to the coast, and the same swell that nearly carried a boy away at Seabright will still be there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We get these heat refugees a lot,” said Jason Hoppin, a public information officer for Santa Cruz County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has extended its \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/mtr/\">beach hazards\u003c/a> statement through Saturday afternoon for Pacific Coast beaches. Forecasters expect breaking waves up to 10 feet, with an increased risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088673/what-is-a-sneaker-wave-how-to-avoid-bay-area-beaches-hidden-deadly-hazards\">sneaker waves\u003c/a> and rip currents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last weekend offers a preview. From Friday through Sunday, lifeguards in the city of Santa Cruz performed 34 rescues and made 5,847 preventative contacts, or proactive warnings about swimming safety, said David Bodine, marine safety captain for the Santa Cruz City Fire Department. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most of that happened on Main Beach and Cowell Beach, where the city staffs five guard towers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The preventions are the number Bodine wants people to notice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If we’re doing our job right, we’re not getting any rescues,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bodine said the biggest difference in risk is whether anyone is watching. Any Santa Cruz beach without guards, he said, “is much more dangerous because nobody’s there to help or see or prevent you from getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, all seven of the recorded accidental water-related deaths since the start of 2025 happened at unguarded beaches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In three of the seven, the person was not swimming. They were standing near the surf line when large waves pulled them in, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The swell is generated by tropical cyclones thousands of miles away in the eastern Pacific Ocean. What makes the swell dangerous is that it does not announce itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With a training exercise happening in the distance, surfers catch and wait for waves within the iconic surfing area along West Cliff Drive, near erosion and collapses of the cliffs, in Santa Cruz, California, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The further the swell comes from, the farther away the waves have time to organize themselves,” Bodine said. “And then they’re more powerful when they do hit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That can mean 20 to 30 minutes of flat-looking ocean followed by a set of 10 to 15 powerful waves. A local swell, in comparison, has constant surf, and people stay out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A novice looks at the ocean and thinks it’s safe,” Bodine said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the Weather Service’s Bay Area office, described the same thing earlier this week: a wave that runs far past the normal waterline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even if the water seems flat for 20 minutes, you can still have an unsuspecting wave run much farther, up actually on dry sand, getting people who are sleeping, walking their dogs,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This summer has produced an unusual number of these swells. A beach hazards statement, an alert of life-threatening coastal conditions, has been in effect for \u003ca href=\"https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=109&by=wfo&sdate=2026%2F06%2F01+0000&edate=2026%2F07%2F30+2359&var=days&w=set&phenomenav1=BH&significancev1=S&phenomenav2=SV&significancev2=W&phenomenav3=SV&significancev3=W&phenomenav4=SV&significancev4=W&e=all&cmap=jet&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png\">33 days since June 1\u003c/a>, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Forecasters issued six of them in that stretch, three times the average for the same window between 2012 and 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12020039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Santa Cruz Wharf closed to the public following the collapse of a part of the wharf during high surf last week, in Santa Cruz on Dec. 30, 2024. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hoang attributed the pattern largely to an active \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Epac_hurr/index.shtml\">tropical season in the eastern Pacific\u003c/a>, where above-normal activity is expected this year. More systems there generally mean more swell reaching California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some of June’s swell came from the opposite hemisphere, he said, generated by winter storms in the southern Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both Bodine and Hoppin said the people who get caught are rarely the ones who know the water. Hoppin, who grew up in Santa Cruz, described beachgoers wandering onto riprap and jetties — structures that start from land and go out to water — or standing at the edge of a cliff without understanding they can be pulled in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s people being pulled off the beach all the time now,” Hoppin said. “You really need to understand the dynamics of the coast.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What worried Bodine about the Seabright video was not the surf but the people wading in after the lifeguard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That could have turned into an eight-person rescue,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093314\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-1536x970.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A surfer rides a wave at Steamer Lane, a well-known surfing spot, with the Santa Cruz Wharf in the background, on July 3, 2008, in Santa Cruz, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His instruction is blunt. Run to a tower, wave down another guard, call 911, but stay out of the water. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t need more victims,” Bodine said. “These are trained professionals. Let them do their thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bodine, who runs staffing for the division, said the city adds crews when a swell is forecast, and doubles up guards on the towers nearest known rip currents, including at the river mouth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you do get pulled out, he said, the worst instinct is to fight it. Stay calm and let the current carry you until it stops, then wave for a guard. If none is there, swim laterally up or down the coast until you are clear of it and head in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The main thing is to relax,” he said. “Don’t fight the rip current.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And before any of that, he said, talk to someone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Check in with lifeguards every time you come down to the beach. They’ll tell you where it’s safe,” Bodine said. “If you’ve never swam in the ocean, it’s probably not a great weekend to start. Know your limits.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We get these heat refugees a lot,” said Jason Hoppin, a public information officer for Santa Cruz County. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We get these heat refugees a lot,” said Jason Hoppin, a public information officer for Santa Cruz County. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has extended its \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/mtr/\">beach hazards\u003c/a> statement through Saturday afternoon for Pacific Coast beaches. Forecasters expect breaking waves up to 10 feet, with an increased risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088673/what-is-a-sneaker-wave-how-to-avoid-bay-area-beaches-hidden-deadly-hazards\">sneaker waves\u003c/a> and rip currents.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has extended its \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/mtr/\">beach hazards\u003c/a> statement through Saturday afternoon for Pacific Coast beaches. Forecasters expect breaking waves up to 10 feet, with an increased risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088673/what-is-a-sneaker-wave-how-to-avoid-bay-area-beaches-hidden-deadly-hazards\">sneaker waves\u003c/a> and rip currents.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last weekend offers a preview. From Friday through Sunday, lifeguards in the city of Santa Cruz performed 34 rescues and made 5,847 preventative contacts, or proactive warnings about swimming safety, said David Bodine, marine safety captain for the Santa Cruz City Fire Department. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last weekend offers a preview. From Friday through Sunday, lifeguards in the city of Santa Cruz performed 34 rescues and made 5,847 preventative contacts, or proactive warnings about swimming safety, said David Bodine, marine safety captain for the Santa Cruz City Fire Department. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Most of that happened on Main Beach and Cowell Beach, where the city staffs five guard towers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The preventions are the number Bodine wants people to notice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The preventions are the number Bodine wants people to notice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If we’re doing our job right, we’re not getting any rescues,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If we’re doing our job right, we’re not getting any rescues,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bodine said the biggest difference in risk is whether anyone is watching. Any Santa Cruz beach without guards, he said, “is much more dangerous because nobody’s there to help or see or prevent you from getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Bodine said the biggest difference in risk is whether anyone is watching. Any Santa Cruz beach without guards, he said, “is much more dangerous because nobody’s there to help or see or prevent you from getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, all seven of the recorded accidental water-related deaths since the start of 2025 happened at unguarded beaches. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, all seven of the recorded accidental water-related deaths since the start of 2025 happened at unguarded beaches. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In three of the seven, the person was not swimming. They were standing near the surf line when large waves pulled them in, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In three of the seven, the person was not swimming. They were standing near the surf line when large waves pulled them in, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The swell is generated by tropical cyclones thousands of miles away in the eastern Pacific Ocean. What makes the swell dangerous is that it does not announce itself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The swell is generated by tropical cyclones thousands of miles away in the eastern Pacific Ocean. What makes the swell dangerous is that it does not announce itself.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With a training exercise happening in the distance, surfers catch and wait for waves within the iconic surfing area along West Cliff Drive, near erosion and collapses of the cliffs, in Santa Cruz, California, on Thursday, March 2, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093312\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With a training exercise happening in the distance, surfers catch and wait for waves within the iconic surfing area along West Cliff Drive, near erosion and collapses of the cliffs, in Santa Cruz, California, on Thursday, March 2, 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The further the swell comes from, the farther away the waves have time to organize themselves,” Bodine said. “And then they’re more powerful when they do hit.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The further the swell comes from, the farther away the waves have time to organize themselves,” Bodine said. “And then they’re more powerful when they do hit.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That can mean 20 to 30 minutes of flat-looking ocean followed by a set of 10 to 15 powerful waves. A local swell, in comparison, has constant surf, and people stay out. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That can mean 20 to 30 minutes of flat-looking ocean followed by a set of 10 to 15 powerful waves. A local swell, in comparison, has constant surf, and people stay out. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A novice looks at the ocean and thinks it’s safe,” Bodine said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“A novice looks at the ocean and thinks it’s safe,” Bodine said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the Weather Service’s Bay Area office, described the same thing earlier this week: a wave that runs far past the normal waterline. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the Weather Service’s Bay Area office, described the same thing earlier this week: a wave that runs far past the normal waterline. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Even if the water seems flat for 20 minutes, you can still have an unsuspecting wave run much farther, up actually on dry sand, getting people who are sleeping, walking their dogs,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Even if the water seems flat for 20 minutes, you can still have an unsuspecting wave run much farther, up actually on dry sand, getting people who are sleeping, walking their dogs,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This summer has produced an unusual number of these swells. A beach hazards statement, an alert of life-threatening coastal conditions, has been in effect for \u003ca href=\"https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=109&by=wfo&sdate=2026%2F06%2F01+0000&edate=2026%2F07%2F30+2359&var=days&w=set&phenomenav1=BH&significancev1=S&phenomenav2=SV&significancev2=W&phenomenav3=SV&significancev3=W&phenomenav4=SV&significancev4=W&e=all&cmap=jet&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png\">33 days since June 1\u003c/a>, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This summer has produced an unusual number of these swells. A beach hazards statement, an alert of life-threatening coastal conditions, has been in effect for \u003ca href=\"https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=109&by=wfo&sdate=2026%2F06%2F01+0000&edate=2026%2F07%2F30+2359&var=days&w=set&phenomenav1=BH&significancev1=S&phenomenav2=SV&significancev2=W&phenomenav3=SV&significancev3=W&phenomenav4=SV&significancev4=W&e=all&cmap=jet&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png\">33 days since June 1\u003c/a>, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Forecasters issued six of them in that stretch, three times the average for the same window between 2012 and 2026.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Forecasters issued six of them in that stretch, three times the average for the same window between 2012 and 2026.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12020039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Santa Cruz Wharf closed to the public following the collapse of a part of the wharf during high surf last week, in Santa Cruz on Dec. 30, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12020039\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Santa Cruz Wharf closed to the public following the collapse of a part of the wharf during high surf last week, in Santa Cruz on Dec. 30, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hoang attributed the pattern largely to an active \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Epac_hurr/index.shtml\">tropical season in the eastern Pacific\u003c/a>, where above-normal activity is expected this year. More systems there generally mean more swell reaching California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hoang attributed the pattern largely to an active \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Epac_hurr/index.shtml\">tropical season in the eastern Pacific\u003c/a>, where above-normal activity is expected this year. More systems there generally mean more swell reaching California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some of June’s swell came from the opposite hemisphere, he said, generated by winter storms in the southern Pacific.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both Bodine and Hoppin said the people who get caught are rarely the ones who know the water. Hoppin, who grew up in Santa Cruz, described beachgoers wandering onto riprap and jetties — structures that start from land and go out to water — or standing at the edge of a cliff without understanding they can be pulled in. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Both Bodine and Hoppin said the people who get caught are rarely the ones who know the water. Hoppin, who grew up in Santa Cruz, described beachgoers wandering onto riprap and jetties — structures that start from land and go out to water — or standing at the edge of a cliff without understanding they can be pulled in. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s people being pulled off the beach all the time now,” Hoppin said. “You really need to understand the dynamics of the coast.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s people being pulled off the beach all the time now,” Hoppin said. “You really need to understand the dynamics of the coast.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What worried Bodine about the Seabright video was not the surf but the people wading in after the lifeguard. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What worried Bodine about the Seabright video was not the surf but the people wading in after the lifeguard. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That could have turned into an eight-person rescue,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093314\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-1536x970.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A surfer rides a wave at Steamer Lane, a well-known surfing spot, with the Santa Cruz Wharf in the background, on July 3, 2008, in Santa Cruz, California.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His instruction is blunt. Run to a tower, wave down another guard, call 911, but stay out of the water. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We don’t need more victims,” Bodine said. “These are trained professionals. Let them do their thing.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bodine, who runs staffing for the division, said the city adds crews when a swell is forecast, and doubles up guards on the towers nearest known rip currents, including at the river mouth. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bodine, who runs staffing for the division, said the city adds crews when a swell is forecast, and doubles up guards on the towers nearest known rip currents, including at the river mouth. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you do get pulled out, he said, the worst instinct is to fight it. Stay calm and let the current carry you until it stops, then wave for a guard. If none is there, swim laterally up or down the coast until you are clear of it and head in. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If you do get pulled out, he said, the worst instinct is to fight it. Stay calm and let the current carry you until it stops, then wave for a guard. If none is there, swim laterally up or down the coast until you are clear of it and head in. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The main thing is to relax,” he said. “Don’t fight the rip current.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And before any of that, he said, talk to someone. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Check in with lifeguards every time you come down to the beach. They’ll tell you where it’s safe,” Bodine said. “If you’ve never swam in the ocean, it’s probably not a great weekend to start. Know your limits.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Last weekend, lifeguards in Santa Cruz rescued 34 people. Warm weather this weekend could push more people towards dangerous waves.",
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"title": "A Viral Santa Cruz Beach Rescue Previews What’s to Come, Officials Say | KQED",
"description": "Last weekend, lifeguards in Santa Cruz rescued 34 people. Warm weather this weekend could push more people towards dangerous waves.",
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"headline": "A Viral Santa Cruz Beach Rescue Previews What’s to Come, Officials Say",
"datePublished": "2026-07-30T13:37:54-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/santa-cruz\">teenage lifeguard\u003c/a> in chest-deep, white water locks his arms around a boy as the ocean behind them keeps pushing in. Bystanders edge closer. The lifeguard waves them off. A second guard reaches the pair, and the two of them carry the boy out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A roughly two-minute video of a dramatic rescue on Saturday at Seabright Beach has drawn millions of views and, on Tuesday, an invitation to the \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/2082159711852298494?s=20\">White House\u003c/a> from President Donald Trump, who said he planned to give the 16-year-old a “High Civilian Honor.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Santa Cruz officials would rather people treat the video as a warning for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092689/a-bay-area-heat-wave-is-coming-along-with-beach-hazards-and-wildfires\">the warm weekend ahead\u003c/a>, with inland temperatures forecast to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093013/cool-coast-hot-inland-bay-area-heat-this-weekend-will-depend-on-where-you-live\">approach 100 degrees on Saturday\u003c/a> in the interior East Bay and North Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093238\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/SantaCruzBeachGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crowd enjoys the warm weather at Santa Cruz Beach, in Santa Cruz, California, on July 30, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The heat will send people to the coast, and the same swell that nearly carried a boy away at Seabright will still be there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We get these heat refugees a lot,” said Jason Hoppin, a public information officer for Santa Cruz County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service has extended its \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/mtr/\">beach hazards\u003c/a> statement through Saturday afternoon for Pacific Coast beaches. Forecasters expect breaking waves up to 10 feet, with an increased risk of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088673/what-is-a-sneaker-wave-how-to-avoid-bay-area-beaches-hidden-deadly-hazards\">sneaker waves\u003c/a> and rip currents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last weekend offers a preview. From Friday through Sunday, lifeguards in the city of Santa Cruz performed 34 rescues and made 5,847 preventative contacts, or proactive warnings about swimming safety, said David Bodine, marine safety captain for the Santa Cruz City Fire Department. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Most of that happened on Main Beach and Cowell Beach, where the city staffs five guard towers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The preventions are the number Bodine wants people to notice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If we’re doing our job right, we’re not getting any rescues,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bodine said the biggest difference in risk is whether anyone is watching. Any Santa Cruz beach without guards, he said, “is much more dangerous because nobody’s there to help or see or prevent you from getting in trouble.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, all seven of the recorded accidental water-related deaths since the start of 2025 happened at unguarded beaches. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In three of the seven, the person was not swimming. They were standing near the surf line when large waves pulled them in, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The swell is generated by tropical cyclones thousands of miles away in the eastern Pacific Ocean. What makes the swell dangerous is that it does not announce itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-1258058408-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With a training exercise happening in the distance, surfers catch and wait for waves within the iconic surfing area along West Cliff Drive, near erosion and collapses of the cliffs, in Santa Cruz, California, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The further the swell comes from, the farther away the waves have time to organize themselves,” Bodine said. “And then they’re more powerful when they do hit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That can mean 20 to 30 minutes of flat-looking ocean followed by a set of 10 to 15 powerful waves. A local swell, in comparison, has constant surf, and people stay out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A novice looks at the ocean and thinks it’s safe,” Bodine said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the Weather Service’s Bay Area office, described the same thing earlier this week: a wave that runs far past the normal waterline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even if the water seems flat for 20 minutes, you can still have an unsuspecting wave run much farther, up actually on dry sand, getting people who are sleeping, walking their dogs,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This summer has produced an unusual number of these swells. A beach hazards statement, an alert of life-threatening coastal conditions, has been in effect for \u003ca href=\"https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=109&by=wfo&sdate=2026%2F06%2F01+0000&edate=2026%2F07%2F30+2359&var=days&w=set&phenomenav1=BH&significancev1=S&phenomenav2=SV&significancev2=W&phenomenav3=SV&significancev3=W&phenomenav4=SV&significancev4=W&e=all&cmap=jet&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png\">33 days since June 1\u003c/a>, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Forecasters issued six of them in that stretch, three times the average for the same window between 2012 and 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12020039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/20241230_SantaCruzWharf_GC-6-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Santa Cruz Wharf closed to the public following the collapse of a part of the wharf during high surf last week, in Santa Cruz on Dec. 30, 2024. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hoang attributed the pattern largely to an active \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Epac_hurr/index.shtml\">tropical season in the eastern Pacific\u003c/a>, where above-normal activity is expected this year. More systems there generally mean more swell reaching California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some of June’s swell came from the opposite hemisphere, he said, generated by winter storms in the southern Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both Bodine and Hoppin said the people who get caught are rarely the ones who know the water. Hoppin, who grew up in Santa Cruz, described beachgoers wandering onto riprap and jetties — structures that start from land and go out to water — or standing at the edge of a cliff without understanding they can be pulled in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s people being pulled off the beach all the time now,” Hoppin said. “You really need to understand the dynamics of the coast.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What worried Bodine about the Seabright video was not the surf but the people wading in after the lifeguard. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That could have turned into an eight-person rescue,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093314\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-81956752-1536x970.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A surfer rides a wave at Steamer Lane, a well-known surfing spot, with the Santa Cruz Wharf in the background, on July 3, 2008, in Santa Cruz, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His instruction is blunt. Run to a tower, wave down another guard, call 911, but stay out of the water. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t need more victims,” Bodine said. “These are trained professionals. Let them do their thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bodine, who runs staffing for the division, said the city adds crews when a swell is forecast, and doubles up guards on the towers nearest known rip currents, including at the river mouth. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you do get pulled out, he said, the worst instinct is to fight it. Stay calm and let the current carry you until it stops, then wave for a guard. If none is there, swim laterally up or down the coast until you are clear of it and head in. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The main thing is to relax,” he said. “Don’t fight the rip current.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And before any of that, he said, talk to someone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Check in with lifeguards every time you come down to the beach. They’ll tell you where it’s safe,” Bodine said. “If you’ve never swam in the ocean, it’s probably not a great weekend to start. Know your limits.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "why-specialized-mariners-are-required-on-every-ship-sailing-into-san-francisco-bay",
"title": "Why Specialized Mariners Are Required on Every Ship Sailing Into San Francisco Bay",
"publishDate": 1783591252,
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"headTitle": "Why Specialized Mariners Are Required on Every Ship Sailing Into San Francisco Bay | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a sunny day, the beauty of San Francisco Bay rivals almost any place in the world. The stately bridges boldly cross its watery expanse, dreamy islands call out for exploration, green or golden hills rise up on all sides and the twinkling lights of the city sparkle in the distance. But on a foggy, windy day, that same paradise can be treacherous for ships coming in and out of the Golden Gate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why all ships over 750 gross tons — about 150 feet or longer — are required to use a special mariner who knows the local conditions when they enter or exit the bay. Known as bar pilots, these local guides board vessels about 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, take charge of the ship and guide it safely under the bridges and through the bay to its anchorage spot or port berth. They also help move vessels within the bay, like from anchorage to port, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erik Udd often sees the bar pilot speedboat depart from Pier 9, where the bar pilots are headquartered, as he cycles his pedicab along the Embarcadero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen the boats, and I’ve seen them heading out towards the Golden Gate, but I never thought about the process,” Udd said. So he asked Bay Curious: “What do they do? How does it work? Do they get hazard pay when they’re out there in a storm?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How the bar pilots came to be\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are a lot of reasons San Francisco Bay is a tricky port to enter. First, there’s a large sandbar outside the mouth of the Golden Gate with only a narrow channel through it that’s deep enough for ships to navigate. Then there’s the weather — dense fog, strong winds and winter storms. Lastly, the currents can be deadly and pull ships off course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all these reasons, many Gold Rush-era ships foundered and sank on their way into the bay. And sunken ships are bad for the flow of commerce. They create additional maritime hazards and gum up the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089870\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12089870 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pilot boat operator navigates a pilot boat in the San Francisco Bay. The pilots guide large ships along California’s coast to ports in San Francisco Bay and beyond. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089871\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ships sit at anchor in the San Francisco Bay in areas known as ‘anchor buckets,’ where commercial vessels can remain for extended periods. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The San Francisco Bar Pilots have been around a long time,” said Anne McIntyre, business director for the San Francisco Bar Pilots. “We were founded in 1850. The first thing the California legislature did was pass the Pilotage Act, and that’s what founded the San Francisco Bar Pilots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evidence of this long history lines the walls of bar pilot headquarters at Pier 9. The first ships they served were sailing ships, but soon steam-powered vessels came on the scene, and eventually, diesel engines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089869\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Capt. Cevan LeSieur points to historic photos of early bar pilot boats at the San Francisco Bar Pilots headquarters in San Francisco. The San Francisco Bar Pilot Association was founded in 1850 and is one of the oldest maritime organizations on the Pacific Coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the early days, “the pilot would get on a little dinghy, and they’d row to the side of the ship, and then climb up the ladder,” said Captain Cevan Lesieur, a bar pilot with more than 10 years of experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has piloted hundreds of ships through the bay’s waters and shook his head at the idea of one man braving the fog and wind alone in a boat powered only by his own strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know when I look at the type of weather and conditions we deal with, these people were just tougher than we are nowadays,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s it like being a bar pilot today?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>That’s not to say being a bar pilot today is easy. They have to navigate many types of waterways – including through the open ocean, up and down the Stockton and Sacramento rivers, under several bridges and through a congested central bay. They also pilot all kinds of vessels from massive cargo ships to cruise ships, tankers to bulkers, yachts to car ships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most harrowing part of a bar pilot’s job is open water boarding. Here’s how it works: when a ship approaches San Francisco from the open ocean, it meets up with a station boat that’s always waiting 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The crew on that boat rotates weekly, but the bar pilots work 365 days a year in all weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Capt. Cevan LeSieur (left) prepares to board the Pasha Hawaii ship George III at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089879\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-2000x662.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-1536x508.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-2048x678.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A bar pilot boat pulls up next to the Pasha Hawaii ship George III at the Port of Oakland. Right: Capt. Cevan LeSieur boards the Pasha Hawaii ship George III. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the ship approaches, it slows down to 9 knots — about 12 miles per hour — and the pilot boat comes alongside at the same speed. Then, timing the jump carefully, the bar pilot leaps across and grabs onto a ladder hanging on the side of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are not tied into anything when they make this jump. When a ship leaves for sea, this process is reversed, with the bar pilot jumping from the ladder to the moving deck of the pilot boat.[aside postID=news_12088210 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260521-YEMENICOFFEE-11-BL-KQED.jpg']“Getting on can be tricky, and people have gone in the water,” said John Carlier, the president of the bar pilots association and a man with more than 30 years on the job. “But getting off and trying to get that small landing area on that deck while that boat’s surfing past you can be a bit sketchy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a pilot does go in the water, he’s wearing a “float coat,” which turns into a lifejacket when it hits the water, complete with lights and a safety whistle. Pilots make the jump in all kinds of weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s not safe, you don’t do it, but a lot of people would look at the conditions and not think it’s safe, but we have our own definition of it,” Lesieur said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He estimated that it’s only about once a year that the weather is so bad that the pilot can’t make the jump. If that happens, the pilot has to stay on the ship until the next port of call and then fly home, and no one wants that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our question asker, Erik Udd, was interested in knowing if bar pilots receive hazard pay during bad weather, and the answer is no. But they are paid well — in the mid-six figures on average. They are paid by the shipping companies that use their services. There’s a \u003ca href=\"https://sfbarpilots.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pilotage-Rates.pdf\">rate structure\u003c/a> based on the tonnage of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Becoming a bar pilot\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To become a bar pilot, a person must be a mid-career captain with decades of experience already. There’s a written test and a simulator test. Based on those scores, candidates are ranked on a list from which the bar pilots pull when apprenticeships open up. Once in the training program, most people spend close to two years shadowing more experienced pilots and learning all the different routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The area starts with the Gulf of the Farallones, works its way through the main bay, down the Redwood City, and all the way up to Stockton and Sacramento,” Carlier said. “There’s eight different sections. You’re going to do in the neighborhood of at least 600 jobs under the tutelage of existing pilots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089872\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bar pilot Capt. Cevan LeSieur stands on the bridge of the Pasha Hawaii ship George III while docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have to learn by heart over 670 aids to navigation — the lights and buoys — as well as the depth charts for the entire 5,000-square-mile area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the expertise and local knowledge of the bar pilots, there have been instances when they made mistakes with devastating consequences. In 2007, a ship with a bar pilot in charge \u003ca href=\"https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/remembering-cosco-busan-overview-2007-oil-spill\">clipped one of the Bay Bridge towers\u003c/a> and 58,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were some communication problems between the pilot and the crew as to where the center of the bridge was on their electronic [navigation] equipment, which definitely added to the sideswiping of the Delta Tower of the Bay Bridge,” Carlier said. “We actually bring our own electronic navigation equipment with us on board now. We also bring our GPS antennas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bar pilots at work\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The container ships that dock at the Port of Oakland to load and unload cargo are massive. The largest ones are as long as the Salesforce Tower is tall, but even more modestly sized ones are huge. The bar pilots have had to adapt as the ships have gotten bigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pashahawaii.com/services/vessels/george-iii\">George III is a container ship\u003c/a> operated by Pasha Hawaii that brings supplies to the Hawaiian Islands. It runs the same route every two weeks, leaving Honolulu mostly empty save for a few commodities like macadamia nuts and rum, stops in Oakland to take on cargo and then heads down to Long Beach for more, before returning to Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1079\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Many of the ships operating in the bay are as long as a skyscraper is tall. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the San Francisco Bar Pilots)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The state of Hawaii has about three to five days of food availability if shipping stopped,” said Ed Washburn, senior vice president of fleet operations. “So it’s very sensitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew of the ship signs on for long stints, 10 to 14 weeks, but then gets just as much time off on land. When they’re on board, they work as a team to keep ship operations running smoothly, the loads balanced, and the engines purring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George III is a unique vessel because it runs on both diesel fuel and \u003ca href=\"https://www.pashahawaii.com/news-media/news/571/pasha-hawaii-marks-historic-milestone-mv-george-iii-first-lng-powered\">natural gas\u003c/a>, making it a cleaner vessel, but also one with more specific engineering needs. The crew eats, sleeps and works in shifts, building a strong sense of camaraderie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089873\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089873\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crew member on the Pasha Hawaii ship George III works on the bridge while docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089878\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089878\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-2000x661.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-2048x676.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Mark Bancroft, a second assistant engineer, works in the engine room of the Pasha Hawaii ship George III while docked at the Port of Oakland. Right: Crew members eat dinner on the George III before departing the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When it’s time to push off for sea, the bar pilot boards the ship and heads towards the ship’s bridge, at the top of the vessel. From there, he checks in with the captain, makes sure the equipment has all been tested and communicates with tugboats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kinda anticlimactic when you have 90-ton boats and no wind,” said Christian Barron, the bar pilot on duty as George III slowly inched away from the dock. “We’ll start casting off tugs once we get about half a mile from here and start bringing her up to speed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089875\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco bar pilot Christian Barron works on the Pasha Hawaii ship George III before departing the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089874\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bar pilot boat is docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089876\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089876\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Views of the San Francisco skyline from a bar pilot boat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the ship was safely out of San Francisco Bay, Christian climbed down the ladder and jumped onto the station boat, where he waited for the next ship needing his services to arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the bar pilots are doing their jobs well, we landlubbers might not even know they exist. We only see the stocked grocery shelves, fuel at the gas pump and cruise ships awaiting passengers at the pier. But to make all of that happen, a bar pilot is working day or night, rain or shine, fog or no, to bring ships safely to port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> If you ask mariners, they’ll tell you, navigating a boat from the open ocean into the San Francisco Bay is notoriously treacherous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s the dense fog that can make it hard to see. Strong currents constantly rearrange the sea floor, and can quickly throw a vessel off course. And finally – our bridges! If a boat were to strike a pillar it could be\u003cem> catastrophic. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why captains of big ships aren’t allowed to navigate into port on their own. A specially trained mariner called a \u003cem>bar pilot\u003c/em> – hops aboard every ship that comes into San Francisco Bay, and takes over command.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We got a question about those bar pilots, so we sent Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz to the Embarcadero to meet the man who asked it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Erik Udd said he’d meet me at the Embarcadero BART station. When I emerged on the escalator he was waiting for me, sitting at the helm of a pedicab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>It’s a great retirement job, I get exercise, it is perfect for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>While we talk, he’s giving me a ride in his pedicab over to Pier 9…near the Exploratorium…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Oh, there goes a boat right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>While Erik pedals along the Embarcadero, he often notices the orange and white boats with the word “PILOT” painted on the side in giant, all caps letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>I’ve seen the boats and I’ve seen them heading out towards the golden gate, but I never thought about the process. What do they do? How does it work?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Erik wants to know everything about the bar pilots. Like, how does the pilot get onto one of those big container ships?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>How big of a boat needs a pilot to come into the bay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>What kind of training do the pilots go through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Has anyone ever gone in the water? I’m sure someone has gone in the water. Maybe a better question is how many times?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>What happens when there’s a storm?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Do they get hazard pay when they’re out there in a storm?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>After all, some of the ships coming into the bay are truly massive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>It’s like a building is moving along across the water. Those things are huge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It’s quite a lot of questions, but I’m up to the task. Erik drops me off at Pier 9, where the Bar Pilots are headquartered. It’s the last office out at the end of the pier and sits behind a chain link fence. But once I’m inside, it looks like a fairly typical office building except the views of the bay are stunning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Anne’s office has the best views in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Captains Cevan Lesieur and Anne McIntyre are showing me around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cevan has been a pilot here for 12 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>This is the best and most interesting waterway to work on from my experience and most challenging. So I always said if I was gonna become a pilot, it’d be in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Challenging because of the currents, the weather, the varied types of waterways and a congested central bay. Bar pilots can be called upon to move cruise ships, oil tankers, cargo ships, even really big yachts. And they have to be able to skillfully maneuver each type of vessel through narrowly dredged channels up the Sacramento and Stockton rivers and around smaller vessels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We service all nine Bay Area ports. So we take ships all the way up to West Sacramento, to Stockton, down to Redwood City, even down to Monterey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Here’s how it works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every ship over about 150 feet is required by law to use a bar pilot to enter and exit the bay, as well as to move from anchor to port within the bay. The pilots serve about 75-hundred vessels a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most dramatic moment for a bar pilot happens out in the open ocean beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>We have what we call our station boat or ocean boats. And one is off shore at all times, about 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. And so we have crews out there that rotate every week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>When a large vessel is heading into San Francisco Bay, it meets up with the bar pilot boat out on the ocean and the bar pilot leaps from one to the other — you heard that right — and they are not tied into anything when they do it. Then they climb up a ladder on the outside of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Timing is critical, and especially the worse the weather, the more important timing is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The ships are side-by-side going about 12-miles per hour when the pilot makes his jump. Cevan says there are some weather conditions that make the transfer too dangerous, but it doesn’t happen often…maybe once a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>If it’s not safe you don’t do it, but a lot of people would look at the conditions and not think it’s safe, but we have our own definition of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Once the pilot is on board, he or she communicates with the captain and crew to bring the vessel safely under the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Bay and to its anchorage spot or port berth. The same happens in reverse, except the pilot has to jump off the ladder and onto the pilot boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every bar pilot I talked to had a harrowing story about open water boarding, but Cevan’s is the funniest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>I was boarding a car ship and the conditions were really bad and the ship and the pilot boat were going up and down and up and down. The wind was so bad, I took like 3 attempts. Finally we came alongside and I was on the platform and I jumped and landed on the deck and was laying there. And the mate looked down, and said you’re f**ing crazy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Over their long history, pilots \u003cem>have\u003c/em> died and many have gone in the water, but it’s not common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>In the modern era, we have not lost a pilot here. And the last time a pilot went into the water has been several years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>If a pilot does miss the jump, he’s wearing a “float coat” that becomes a life jacket when he hits the water, complete with lights and whistles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to answer our question asker, no, they don’t get hazard pay. But they are paid well… on average about 500,000 a year — all of that paid by the companies operating the boats they serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> We’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back we’ll learn how the bar pilots came to be and Katrina gets to shadow a pilot on a real job. Will she make the jump? All that coming up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sponsor message\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We were on a tour of bar pilot headquarters at Pier 9. Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz found the halls are lined with evidence of the organization’s very \u003cstrong>long\u003c/strong> history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Captains Cevan Lesieur and Anne McIntyre are showing me cool photos and artifacts from bar pilot history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We have to stop at this one here. This is the original charter from the first California legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Anne points to an old looking document on the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>The San Francisco Bar Pilots have been around a long time. We were founded in 1850. We’re the second oldest business in San Francisco behind Boudin Bread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The bar pilots are as old as the state of California. Even back in 1850, state legislators understood the future of San Francisco — California even — depended on the safe flow of ships in and out of the Bay. We couldn’t have all these shipwrecks gumming up the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We were the first act of the first California Legislature. So the first thing the California legislature did was pass the pilotage act happened and that’s what founded the San Francisco Bar Pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Back then, the ships coming to San Francisco were mostly sailing vessels. By the end of the century coal-fired steam engines would come on the scene and later diesel engines. Each era required something different from the bar pilots, Cevan tells me. Boarding sailing ships might have been the most physically demanding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>The pilot would get on a little dinghy, and they’d row to the side of the ship, and then you’d climb up the ladder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>He shakes his head at the idea of rowing a dingy through dense fog and huge wake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>You know when I look at the type of weather and conditions we deal with…These people were just tougher than we are nowadays. \u003cem>(Laughs, fade under)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>To become a bar pilot, you have to be a mid-career captain with many years of experience. There’s a written test and a simulator test. Candidates are ranked based on their scores and are then eligible for an apprenticeship with the bar pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>You’re going to probably do in the neighborhood of at least 600 jobs under the tutelage of existing pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>John Carlier is the President of the Bar Pilots Association. He says there are eight sections in the Bay, each with their own challenges, and the pilots have to learn all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>And the area starts with the Gulf of the Farallones, works its way through the main bay, down the Redwood City, and all the way up to Stockton and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Piloting up the rivers here can be especially challenging. The ships are within two feet of the bottom in narrow channels with little room for error. And it takes a long time, about 9 hours from the open ocean to Stockton or Sacramento, so they usually change bar pilots half way to avoid fatigue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite all this training, there have been incidents when ships captained by bar pilots have run into trouble in the Bay. Like in 2007 when an oil tanker clipped one of the Bay Bridge towers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>Yes, that was a bar pilot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>News clip: \u003c/strong>A 900 foot container ship hit the Bay Bridge tower east of the main anchorage. 58,000 gallons of fuel oil. Countless fragile ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>There was some communication problems between the pilot and the crew as to where the center of the bridge was on their electronic nav equipment which definitely added to you know the the sideswiping of the Delta Tower of the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Because of that incident, the bar pilots now bring their own GPS navigational equipment on board with them so they don’t have to rely on the vessel’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m going to get to see that in action soon, so we start heading towards a boat with the word “pilot” boldly written on its side tied up out back. We clamor aboard. It looks like a fancy speedboat, and head towards Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pilot: \u003c/strong>Where do you want to head to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Port of Oakland, George III\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It takes about 20 minutes to cross the bay and soon our small boat is pulling up alongside a massive containership. This boat is considered “small” by shipping standards and it’s still as tall as a 15 story building from the water up to the top. I now have to step from the bobbing deck of the pilot boat onto a rope ladder dangling from the first deck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of ladder clanking against the ship\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>I had hoped to do the open ocean leap I’d heard so much about. Climbing about 15 feet up this ladder felt pretty tame by comparison. The water in the Oakland estuary was very calm, kinda the training wheels version of this climb. No heroics for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ship, George the III, brings supplies to the Hawaiian Islands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>Everything from medicine to groceries to fertilizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Ed Washburn is senior vice president of fleet operations with Pasha, Hawaii, the company that owns this vessel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ship runs the same two-week route on repeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>The state of Hawaii has about three to five days of food availability, of shipping stopped. So it’s very sensitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It leaves Honolulu mostly empty, carrying a few commodities like rum and macadamia nuts to the mainland. Then it stops in Oakland to pick up cargo, down to Long Beach for more and back to Honolulu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>The value of that is about $50 million in cargo each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ok, should we go up to the bridge?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The bridge is at the top of the ship and it’s where the bar pilot does their work. We walk up A LOT of steps to get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(sounds of steps under this)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>From up here we have incredible views of the sun setting over the bay and the internal workings of the port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>This is Christian Barron. He’s also a Cal Maritime graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Today, Christian Barron is the bar pilot in charge. But Cevan is hanging out with me, explaining what’s happening so I don’t bug Christian at crucial moments, like when he’s checking in with the captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Once the tugs have been made fast and the engine’s been tested we can get rolling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>The engine has been tested.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>These massive ships are hard to maneuver, so pilots use tugboats to pull the ship off the dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Radio sounds: \u003c/strong>Captain, this is the chief engineer. Show of power. Cables secured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>Roger, Dave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Christian checks in with Vessel Traffic Services, basically air traffic control for boats, to let them know his plan and find out if there are other vessels in the shipping lanes he needs to be aware of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traffic, good evening, 4-5. Preparing to depart Oakland 55 starboard side two bound for sea. Deep draft 32 feet two inches. Tend to Delta-Echo span and deep water traffic lane Working my tugs on 20 Alpha.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>VTS Operator:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Roger, copy that, 4-5. George the third preparing to get underway from Oakland…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Nothing to worry about. There’s a fair amount of waiting as the crew gets in position and the port workers untie the boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>All clear forward\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>And then we get going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron:\u003c/strong> All clear fore and aft, stand clear of your tuglines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Artemis and Apollo are the names of the tugboats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>Ok, ready to go. Artemis stop and stretch. Apollo stop and stretch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>As Christian gives orders, the massive container ship starts to slowly move away from the dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>It’s kinda anticlimactic when you have 90 ton boats and no wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Once the tugboats are secured and ready to go, the whole procedure only takes about ten minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>It is a little anticlimactic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>We love boring when it comes to this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene):\u003c/strong> I didn’t even realize we were moving at first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Port sounds\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>You pushed off, what’s the next thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>I’ll give a command for dead slow ahead. We’ll confirm the engines come up to rpm and then we’ll put the tugs in position so they can follow along so they’re not impeding us, but can still affect the boat if we have an engine or steering failure they can still maneuver the vessel if need be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Then he’ll check in with traffic again to let them know he’s underway and get any updates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>And then we’ll start casting off tugs once we get about half a mile from here and start bringing her up to speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>Anything you’re particularly concerned about tonight?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>Tonight, no. We have a little bit of current at the bar, so I just need to make sure I time my turns correctly, use enough rudder, engine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Unfortunately, the bar pilots were not keen on me following Christian all the way out into the open ocean to disembark at 9 knots onto the pilot boat. Instead, we’ll be going back down the ladder in the Oakland estuary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Thanks, nice to meet you all. Safe voyage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>Be safe on the ladder!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>We tramp down many flights of stairs, back to the lowest deck and our ladder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It should be easier going down, right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of clanking\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pilot boat crew: \u003c/strong>You’re two from the bottom…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>As we head back towards the Ferry Building, the sun’s last glow seeping from the sky, I’m struck by the vastness of the Bay as the darkness encroaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m heading home to my warm bed. But a crew of bar pilots is waiting 11 miles offshore rain or shine. At their best, their work is invisible to us. We only notice the stocked shelves, cruise ships at their berths and fuel at the gas station. Our entire city works because they do. Guiding ship after ship through the fog and to safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of the pilot boat motoring back to the Embarcadero\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was Bay Curious editor and producer, Katrina Schwartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the KQED Members whose support made this episode possible! If you’d like to become a member, visit donate.kqed.org/podcasts to get started. It only takes a minute and comes with some nice perks. We’ll drop the link in our show notes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San Francisco Bay is notorious in the shipping world for its tricky waters. That’s why bar pilots — specially trained mariners — board every ship entering or exiting the bay and guide it to safety.",
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"title": "Why Specialized Mariners Are Required on Every Ship Sailing Into San Francisco Bay | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a sunny day, the beauty of San Francisco Bay rivals almost any place in the world. The stately bridges boldly cross its watery expanse, dreamy islands call out for exploration, green or golden hills rise up on all sides and the twinkling lights of the city sparkle in the distance. But on a foggy, windy day, that same paradise can be treacherous for ships coming in and out of the Golden Gate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why all ships over 750 gross tons — about 150 feet or longer — are required to use a special mariner who knows the local conditions when they enter or exit the bay. Known as bar pilots, these local guides board vessels about 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, take charge of the ship and guide it safely under the bridges and through the bay to its anchorage spot or port berth. They also help move vessels within the bay, like from anchorage to port, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erik Udd often sees the bar pilot speedboat depart from Pier 9, where the bar pilots are headquartered, as he cycles his pedicab along the Embarcadero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen the boats, and I’ve seen them heading out towards the Golden Gate, but I never thought about the process,” Udd said. So he asked Bay Curious: “What do they do? How does it work? Do they get hazard pay when they’re out there in a storm?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How the bar pilots came to be\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are a lot of reasons San Francisco Bay is a tricky port to enter. First, there’s a large sandbar outside the mouth of the Golden Gate with only a narrow channel through it that’s deep enough for ships to navigate. Then there’s the weather — dense fog, strong winds and winter storms. Lastly, the currents can be deadly and pull ships off course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all these reasons, many Gold Rush-era ships foundered and sank on their way into the bay. And sunken ships are bad for the flow of commerce. They create additional maritime hazards and gum up the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089870\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12089870 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-22-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pilot boat operator navigates a pilot boat in the San Francisco Bay. The pilots guide large ships along California’s coast to ports in San Francisco Bay and beyond. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089871\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089871\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-28-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ships sit at anchor in the San Francisco Bay in areas known as ‘anchor buckets,’ where commercial vessels can remain for extended periods. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The San Francisco Bar Pilots have been around a long time,” said Anne McIntyre, business director for the San Francisco Bar Pilots. “We were founded in 1850. The first thing the California legislature did was pass the Pilotage Act, and that’s what founded the San Francisco Bar Pilots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evidence of this long history lines the walls of bar pilot headquarters at Pier 9. The first ships they served were sailing ships, but soon steam-powered vessels came on the scene, and eventually, diesel engines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089869\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Capt. Cevan LeSieur points to historic photos of early bar pilot boats at the San Francisco Bar Pilots headquarters in San Francisco. The San Francisco Bar Pilot Association was founded in 1850 and is one of the oldest maritime organizations on the Pacific Coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the early days, “the pilot would get on a little dinghy, and they’d row to the side of the ship, and then climb up the ladder,” said Captain Cevan Lesieur, a bar pilot with more than 10 years of experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He has piloted hundreds of ships through the bay’s waters and shook his head at the idea of one man braving the fog and wind alone in a boat powered only by his own strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know when I look at the type of weather and conditions we deal with, these people were just tougher than we are nowadays,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s it like being a bar pilot today?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>That’s not to say being a bar pilot today is easy. They have to navigate many types of waterways – including through the open ocean, up and down the Stockton and Sacramento rivers, under several bridges and through a congested central bay. They also pilot all kinds of vessels from massive cargo ships to cruise ships, tankers to bulkers, yachts to car ships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most harrowing part of a bar pilot’s job is open water boarding. Here’s how it works: when a ship approaches San Francisco from the open ocean, it meets up with a station boat that’s always waiting 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The crew on that boat rotates weekly, but the bar pilots work 365 days a year in all weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089866\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089866\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-34-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Capt. Cevan LeSieur (left) prepares to board the Pasha Hawaii ship George III at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089879\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-2000x662.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-1536x508.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych4-2048x678.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A bar pilot boat pulls up next to the Pasha Hawaii ship George III at the Port of Oakland. Right: Capt. Cevan LeSieur boards the Pasha Hawaii ship George III. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the ship approaches, it slows down to 9 knots — about 12 miles per hour — and the pilot boat comes alongside at the same speed. Then, timing the jump carefully, the bar pilot leaps across and grabs onto a ladder hanging on the side of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are not tied into anything when they make this jump. When a ship leaves for sea, this process is reversed, with the bar pilot jumping from the ladder to the moving deck of the pilot boat.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Getting on can be tricky, and people have gone in the water,” said John Carlier, the president of the bar pilots association and a man with more than 30 years on the job. “But getting off and trying to get that small landing area on that deck while that boat’s surfing past you can be a bit sketchy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a pilot does go in the water, he’s wearing a “float coat,” which turns into a lifejacket when it hits the water, complete with lights and a safety whistle. Pilots make the jump in all kinds of weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s not safe, you don’t do it, but a lot of people would look at the conditions and not think it’s safe, but we have our own definition of it,” Lesieur said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He estimated that it’s only about once a year that the weather is so bad that the pilot can’t make the jump. If that happens, the pilot has to stay on the ship until the next port of call and then fly home, and no one wants that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our question asker, Erik Udd, was interested in knowing if bar pilots receive hazard pay during bad weather, and the answer is no. But they are paid well — in the mid-six figures on average. They are paid by the shipping companies that use their services. There’s a \u003ca href=\"https://sfbarpilots.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pilotage-Rates.pdf\">rate structure\u003c/a> based on the tonnage of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Becoming a bar pilot\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To become a bar pilot, a person must be a mid-career captain with decades of experience already. There’s a written test and a simulator test. Based on those scores, candidates are ranked on a list from which the bar pilots pull when apprenticeships open up. Once in the training program, most people spend close to two years shadowing more experienced pilots and learning all the different routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The area starts with the Gulf of the Farallones, works its way through the main bay, down the Redwood City, and all the way up to Stockton and Sacramento,” Carlier said. “There’s eight different sections. You’re going to do in the neighborhood of at least 600 jobs under the tutelage of existing pilots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089872\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089872\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-57-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bar pilot Capt. Cevan LeSieur stands on the bridge of the Pasha Hawaii ship George III while docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have to learn by heart over 670 aids to navigation — the lights and buoys — as well as the depth charts for the entire 5,000-square-mile area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the expertise and local knowledge of the bar pilots, there have been instances when they made mistakes with devastating consequences. In 2007, a ship with a bar pilot in charge \u003ca href=\"https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/remembering-cosco-busan-overview-2007-oil-spill\">clipped one of the Bay Bridge towers\u003c/a> and 58,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were some communication problems between the pilot and the crew as to where the center of the bridge was on their electronic [navigation] equipment, which definitely added to the sideswiping of the Delta Tower of the Bay Bridge,” Carlier said. “We actually bring our own electronic navigation equipment with us on board now. We also bring our GPS antennas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bar pilots at work\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The container ships that dock at the Port of Oakland to load and unload cargo are massive. The largest ones are as long as the Salesforce Tower is tall, but even more modestly sized ones are huge. The bar pilots have had to adapt as the ships have gotten bigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pashahawaii.com/services/vessels/george-iii\">George III is a container ship\u003c/a> operated by Pasha Hawaii that brings supplies to the Hawaiian Islands. It runs the same route every two weeks, leaving Honolulu mostly empty save for a few commodities like macadamia nuts and rum, stops in Oakland to take on cargo and then heads down to Long Beach for more, before returning to Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1079\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GraphBarPilots-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Many of the ships operating in the bay are as long as a skyscraper is tall. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the San Francisco Bar Pilots)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The state of Hawaii has about three to five days of food availability if shipping stopped,” said Ed Washburn, senior vice president of fleet operations. “So it’s very sensitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crew of the ship signs on for long stints, 10 to 14 weeks, but then gets just as much time off on land. When they’re on board, they work as a team to keep ship operations running smoothly, the loads balanced, and the engines purring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George III is a unique vessel because it runs on both diesel fuel and \u003ca href=\"https://www.pashahawaii.com/news-media/news/571/pasha-hawaii-marks-historic-milestone-mv-george-iii-first-lng-powered\">natural gas\u003c/a>, making it a cleaner vessel, but also one with more specific engineering needs. The crew eats, sleeps and works in shifts, building a strong sense of camaraderie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089873\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089873\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-60-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crew member on the Pasha Hawaii ship George III works on the bridge while docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089878\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089878\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-2000x661.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-Diptych03-BL-2048x676.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Mark Bancroft, a second assistant engineer, works in the engine room of the Pasha Hawaii ship George III while docked at the Port of Oakland. Right: Crew members eat dinner on the George III before departing the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When it’s time to push off for sea, the bar pilot boards the ship and heads towards the ship’s bridge, at the top of the vessel. From there, he checks in with the captain, makes sure the equipment has all been tested and communicates with tugboats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kinda anticlimactic when you have 90-ton boats and no wind,” said Christian Barron, the bar pilot on duty as George III slowly inched away from the dock. “We’ll start casting off tugs once we get about half a mile from here and start bringing her up to speed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089875\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-83-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco bar pilot Christian Barron works on the Pasha Hawaii ship George III before departing the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089874\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089874\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-72-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bar pilot boat is docked at the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12089876\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12089876\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260114-BarPilots-101-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Views of the San Francisco skyline from a bar pilot boat. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the ship was safely out of San Francisco Bay, Christian climbed down the ladder and jumped onto the station boat, where he waited for the next ship needing his services to arrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the bar pilots are doing their jobs well, we landlubbers might not even know they exist. We only see the stocked grocery shelves, fuel at the gas pump and cruise ships awaiting passengers at the pier. But to make all of that happen, a bar pilot is working day or night, rain or shine, fog or no, to bring ships safely to port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Viewthefullepisodetranscript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> If you ask mariners, they’ll tell you, navigating a boat from the open ocean into the San Francisco Bay is notoriously treacherous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s the dense fog that can make it hard to see. Strong currents constantly rearrange the sea floor, and can quickly throw a vessel off course. And finally – our bridges! If a boat were to strike a pillar it could be\u003cem> catastrophic. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why captains of big ships aren’t allowed to navigate into port on their own. A specially trained mariner called a \u003cem>bar pilot\u003c/em> – hops aboard every ship that comes into San Francisco Bay, and takes over command.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We got a question about those bar pilots, so we sent Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz to the Embarcadero to meet the man who asked it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Erik Udd said he’d meet me at the Embarcadero BART station. When I emerged on the escalator he was waiting for me, sitting at the helm of a pedicab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>It’s a great retirement job, I get exercise, it is perfect for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>While we talk, he’s giving me a ride in his pedicab over to Pier 9…near the Exploratorium…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Oh, there goes a boat right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>While Erik pedals along the Embarcadero, he often notices the orange and white boats with the word “PILOT” painted on the side in giant, all caps letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>I’ve seen the boats and I’ve seen them heading out towards the golden gate, but I never thought about the process. What do they do? How does it work?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Erik wants to know everything about the bar pilots. Like, how does the pilot get onto one of those big container ships?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>How big of a boat needs a pilot to come into the bay?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>What kind of training do the pilots go through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Has anyone ever gone in the water? I’m sure someone has gone in the water. Maybe a better question is how many times?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>What happens when there’s a storm?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>Do they get hazard pay when they’re out there in a storm?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>After all, some of the ships coming into the bay are truly massive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Erik Udd: \u003c/strong>It’s like a building is moving along across the water. Those things are huge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It’s quite a lot of questions, but I’m up to the task. Erik drops me off at Pier 9, where the Bar Pilots are headquartered. It’s the last office out at the end of the pier and sits behind a chain link fence. But once I’m inside, it looks like a fairly typical office building except the views of the bay are stunning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Anne’s office has the best views in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Captains Cevan Lesieur and Anne McIntyre are showing me around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cevan has been a pilot here for 12 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>This is the best and most interesting waterway to work on from my experience and most challenging. So I always said if I was gonna become a pilot, it’d be in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Challenging because of the currents, the weather, the varied types of waterways and a congested central bay. Bar pilots can be called upon to move cruise ships, oil tankers, cargo ships, even really big yachts. And they have to be able to skillfully maneuver each type of vessel through narrowly dredged channels up the Sacramento and Stockton rivers and around smaller vessels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We service all nine Bay Area ports. So we take ships all the way up to West Sacramento, to Stockton, down to Redwood City, even down to Monterey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Here’s how it works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every ship over about 150 feet is required by law to use a bar pilot to enter and exit the bay, as well as to move from anchor to port within the bay. The pilots serve about 75-hundred vessels a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most dramatic moment for a bar pilot happens out in the open ocean beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>We have what we call our station boat or ocean boats. And one is off shore at all times, about 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. And so we have crews out there that rotate every week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>When a large vessel is heading into San Francisco Bay, it meets up with the bar pilot boat out on the ocean and the bar pilot leaps from one to the other — you heard that right — and they are not tied into anything when they do it. Then they climb up a ladder on the outside of the ship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Timing is critical, and especially the worse the weather, the more important timing is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The ships are side-by-side going about 12-miles per hour when the pilot makes his jump. Cevan says there are some weather conditions that make the transfer too dangerous, but it doesn’t happen often…maybe once a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>If it’s not safe you don’t do it, but a lot of people would look at the conditions and not think it’s safe, but we have our own definition of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Once the pilot is on board, he or she communicates with the captain and crew to bring the vessel safely under the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Bay and to its anchorage spot or port berth. The same happens in reverse, except the pilot has to jump off the ladder and onto the pilot boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every bar pilot I talked to had a harrowing story about open water boarding, but Cevan’s is the funniest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>I was boarding a car ship and the conditions were really bad and the ship and the pilot boat were going up and down and up and down. The wind was so bad, I took like 3 attempts. Finally we came alongside and I was on the platform and I jumped and landed on the deck and was laying there. And the mate looked down, and said you’re f**ing crazy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Over their long history, pilots \u003cem>have\u003c/em> died and many have gone in the water, but it’s not common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>In the modern era, we have not lost a pilot here. And the last time a pilot went into the water has been several years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>If a pilot does miss the jump, he’s wearing a “float coat” that becomes a life jacket when he hits the water, complete with lights and whistles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to answer our question asker, no, they don’t get hazard pay. But they are paid well… on average about 500,000 a year — all of that paid by the companies operating the boats they serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> We’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back we’ll learn how the bar pilots came to be and Katrina gets to shadow a pilot on a real job. Will she make the jump? All that coming up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sponsor message\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We were on a tour of bar pilot headquarters at Pier 9. Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz found the halls are lined with evidence of the organization’s very \u003cstrong>long\u003c/strong> history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Captains Cevan Lesieur and Anne McIntyre are showing me cool photos and artifacts from bar pilot history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We have to stop at this one here. This is the original charter from the first California legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Anne points to an old looking document on the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>The San Francisco Bar Pilots have been around a long time. We were founded in 1850. We’re the second oldest business in San Francisco behind Boudin Bread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The bar pilots are as old as the state of California. Even back in 1850, state legislators understood the future of San Francisco — California even — depended on the safe flow of ships in and out of the Bay. We couldn’t have all these shipwrecks gumming up the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anne McIntyre: \u003c/strong>We were the first act of the first California Legislature. So the first thing the California legislature did was pass the pilotage act happened and that’s what founded the San Francisco Bar Pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Back then, the ships coming to San Francisco were mostly sailing vessels. By the end of the century coal-fired steam engines would come on the scene and later diesel engines. Each era required something different from the bar pilots, Cevan tells me. Boarding sailing ships might have been the most physically demanding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>The pilot would get on a little dinghy, and they’d row to the side of the ship, and then you’d climb up the ladder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>He shakes his head at the idea of rowing a dingy through dense fog and huge wake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>You know when I look at the type of weather and conditions we deal with…These people were just tougher than we are nowadays. \u003cem>(Laughs, fade under)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>To become a bar pilot, you have to be a mid-career captain with many years of experience. There’s a written test and a simulator test. Candidates are ranked based on their scores and are then eligible for an apprenticeship with the bar pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>You’re going to probably do in the neighborhood of at least 600 jobs under the tutelage of existing pilots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>John Carlier is the President of the Bar Pilots Association. He says there are eight sections in the Bay, each with their own challenges, and the pilots have to learn all of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>And the area starts with the Gulf of the Farallones, works its way through the main bay, down the Redwood City, and all the way up to Stockton and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Piloting up the rivers here can be especially challenging. The ships are within two feet of the bottom in narrow channels with little room for error. And it takes a long time, about 9 hours from the open ocean to Stockton or Sacramento, so they usually change bar pilots half way to avoid fatigue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite all this training, there have been incidents when ships captained by bar pilots have run into trouble in the Bay. Like in 2007 when an oil tanker clipped one of the Bay Bridge towers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>Yes, that was a bar pilot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>News clip: \u003c/strong>A 900 foot container ship hit the Bay Bridge tower east of the main anchorage. 58,000 gallons of fuel oil. Countless fragile ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John Carlier: \u003c/strong>There was some communication problems between the pilot and the crew as to where the center of the bridge was on their electronic nav equipment which definitely added to you know the the sideswiping of the Delta Tower of the Bay Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Because of that incident, the bar pilots now bring their own GPS navigational equipment on board with them so they don’t have to rely on the vessel’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m going to get to see that in action soon, so we start heading towards a boat with the word “pilot” boldly written on its side tied up out back. We clamor aboard. It looks like a fancy speedboat, and head towards Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pilot: \u003c/strong>Where do you want to head to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Port of Oakland, George III\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It takes about 20 minutes to cross the bay and soon our small boat is pulling up alongside a massive containership. This boat is considered “small” by shipping standards and it’s still as tall as a 15 story building from the water up to the top. I now have to step from the bobbing deck of the pilot boat onto a rope ladder dangling from the first deck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of ladder clanking against the ship\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>I had hoped to do the open ocean leap I’d heard so much about. Climbing about 15 feet up this ladder felt pretty tame by comparison. The water in the Oakland estuary was very calm, kinda the training wheels version of this climb. No heroics for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ship, George the III, brings supplies to the Hawaiian Islands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>Everything from medicine to groceries to fertilizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Ed Washburn is senior vice president of fleet operations with Pasha, Hawaii, the company that owns this vessel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ship runs the same two-week route on repeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>The state of Hawaii has about three to five days of food availability, of shipping stopped. So it’s very sensitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It leaves Honolulu mostly empty, carrying a few commodities like rum and macadamia nuts to the mainland. Then it stops in Oakland to pick up cargo, down to Long Beach for more and back to Honolulu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ed Washburn: \u003c/strong>The value of that is about $50 million in cargo each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ok, should we go up to the bridge?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>The bridge is at the top of the ship and it’s where the bar pilot does their work. We walk up A LOT of steps to get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(sounds of steps under this)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>From up here we have incredible views of the sun setting over the bay and the internal workings of the port.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>This is Christian Barron. He’s also a Cal Maritime graduate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Today, Christian Barron is the bar pilot in charge. But Cevan is hanging out with me, explaining what’s happening so I don’t bug Christian at crucial moments, like when he’s checking in with the captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cevan Lesieur: \u003c/strong>Once the tugs have been made fast and the engine’s been tested we can get rolling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>The engine has been tested.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>These massive ships are hard to maneuver, so pilots use tugboats to pull the ship off the dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Radio sounds: \u003c/strong>Captain, this is the chief engineer. Show of power. Cables secured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>Roger, Dave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Christian checks in with Vessel Traffic Services, basically air traffic control for boats, to let them know his plan and find out if there are other vessels in the shipping lanes he needs to be aware of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traffic, good evening, 4-5. Preparing to depart Oakland 55 starboard side two bound for sea. Deep draft 32 feet two inches. Tend to Delta-Echo span and deep water traffic lane Working my tugs on 20 Alpha.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>VTS Operator:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Roger, copy that, 4-5. George the third preparing to get underway from Oakland…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Nothing to worry about. There’s a fair amount of waiting as the crew gets in position and the port workers untie the boat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>All clear forward\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>And then we get going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron:\u003c/strong> All clear fore and aft, stand clear of your tuglines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Artemis and Apollo are the names of the tugboats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>Ok, ready to go. Artemis stop and stretch. Apollo stop and stretch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>As Christian gives orders, the massive container ship starts to slowly move away from the dock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>It’s kinda anticlimactic when you have 90 ton boats and no wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Once the tugboats are secured and ready to go, the whole procedure only takes about ten minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>It is a little anticlimactic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>We love boring when it comes to this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene):\u003c/strong> I didn’t even realize we were moving at first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Port sounds\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>You pushed off, what’s the next thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>I’ll give a command for dead slow ahead. We’ll confirm the engines come up to rpm and then we’ll put the tugs in position so they can follow along so they’re not impeding us, but can still affect the boat if we have an engine or steering failure they can still maneuver the vessel if need be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Then he’ll check in with traffic again to let them know he’s underway and get any updates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>And then we’ll start casting off tugs once we get about half a mile from here and start bringing her up to speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz (in scene): \u003c/strong>Anything you’re particularly concerned about tonight?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Christian Barron: \u003c/strong>Tonight, no. We have a little bit of current at the bar, so I just need to make sure I time my turns correctly, use enough rudder, engine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Unfortunately, the bar pilots were not keen on me following Christian all the way out into the open ocean to disembark at 9 knots onto the pilot boat. Instead, we’ll be going back down the ladder in the Oakland estuary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>Thanks, nice to meet you all. Safe voyage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Captain Eric Veloni: \u003c/strong>Be safe on the ladder!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>We tramp down many flights of stairs, back to the lowest deck and our ladder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>It should be easier going down, right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of clanking\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pilot boat crew: \u003c/strong>You’re two from the bottom…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/strong>As we head back towards the Ferry Building, the sun’s last glow seeping from the sky, I’m struck by the vastness of the Bay as the darkness encroaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m heading home to my warm bed. But a crew of bar pilots is waiting 11 miles offshore rain or shine. At their best, their work is invisible to us. We only notice the stocked shelves, cruise ships at their berths and fuel at the gas station. Our entire city works because they do. Guiding ship after ship through the fog and to safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sound of the pilot boat motoring back to the Embarcadero\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was Bay Curious editor and producer, Katrina Schwartz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the KQED Members whose support made this episode possible! If you’d like to become a member, visit donate.kqed.org/podcasts to get started. It only takes a minute and comes with some nice perks. We’ll drop the link in our show notes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and me, Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Jen Chien, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a great week!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration said Friday it will review \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California’s coastal\u003c/a> management powers, the White House’s latest attempt to undermine the state’s environmental protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it will perform a thorough\u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/26/2026-12907/evaluation-of-the-california-coastal-management-program-notice-of-public-meetings-request-for\"> evaluation\u003c/a> of the state’s coastal management practices, including how watchdogs have addressed — or “failed to address … spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects, undersea cables, and other key priorities of national importance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a May \u003ca href=\"https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2026/05/commerce-department-initiates-review-california-coastal-management\">press release\u003c/a>. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Coastal Management Program includes the California Coastal Commission, the California Coastal Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. NOAA will hold an in-person meeting and two virtual public hearings on the topic in August and will accept comments through Aug. 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coastal experts said the probe is a not-so-veiled political ploy to force open the door to federal projects that align with the administration’s views and run counter to the state’s environmental goals. But they said the pathway to changing California’s authority isn’t an easy one and would likely result in litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a blatantly political move,” said Mark Lubell, an environmental science and policy professor at UC Davis. “It may be political smoke and mirrors in the long run, but it’s going to take effort to kind of push back on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12058095 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/GettyImages-2236330121-scaled-e1782512781402.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (center) delivers remarks as President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The administration said it will review the state’s compliance with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45460\">Coastal Zone Management Act.\u003c/a> The federal law, established in 1972, allows states to develop programs to protect coastal resources and minimize hazards such as flooding and sea-level rise. It also gives states the power to review federal projects to ensure they comply with state rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Warner Chabot was part of the campaign that led to the act’s passage. He said the review is a way for the federal government to bypass the state’s objections to developing coastal waters for oil and gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration wants to gut or decapitate the Coastal Commission so they can have free rein for auctioning California coastal waters for offshore oil drilling, plain and simple,” Chabot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot called the review a “new attack” on the state and federal “collaborative relationship” in managing the coastline.[aside postID=news_12087600 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg']“The federal government is already working to open California’s coast to new offshore drilling,” Crowfoot said in a statement. “Our $51 billion coastal economy serves as a powerful engine for the state’s prosperity, and the people of our state must keep a seat at the table to protect it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennifer Savage, California policy associate director for Surfrider Foundation, a conservation group, said the review is “an incredibly serious issue” and an attempt to take the state’s authority from managing its coastline. Savage said \u003ca href=\"https://www.surfrider.org/news/the-federal-government-is-reviewing-californias-coastal-management-program.-heres-what-that-means-for-beaches-everywhere\">the outcome\u003c/a> could lead to the removal of oversight of federal projects and the loss of funding for those projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s clear this is the Trump administration using a federal process to punish California,” Savage said. “We know that the Trump administration does not have California’s protections as their primary interest, and so we need to push back as hard as possible against this effort.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristina Hill, a UC Berkeley environmental planning professor and expert in sea level rise issues, said federal efforts to undermine the state could lead to “contamination of the environment, lead to public health risks, beach quality and water quality issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s scary to see states’ abilities to protect public health and the environment [potentially] weakened,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hill said that a decision to strip the state of the power to protect the environment would place the onus on local communities to push back against the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Trump administration said Friday it will review \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California’s coastal\u003c/a> management powers, the White House’s latest attempt to undermine the state’s environmental protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it will perform a thorough\u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/26/2026-12907/evaluation-of-the-california-coastal-management-program-notice-of-public-meetings-request-for\"> evaluation\u003c/a> of the state’s coastal management practices, including how watchdogs have addressed — or “failed to address … spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects, undersea cables, and other key priorities of national importance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a May \u003ca href=\"https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2026/05/commerce-department-initiates-review-california-coastal-management\">press release\u003c/a>. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Coastal Management Program includes the California Coastal Commission, the California Coastal Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. NOAA will hold an in-person meeting and two virtual public hearings on the topic in August and will accept comments through Aug. 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coastal experts said the probe is a not-so-veiled political ploy to force open the door to federal projects that align with the administration’s views and run counter to the state’s environmental goals. But they said the pathway to changing California’s authority isn’t an easy one and would likely result in litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a blatantly political move,” said Mark Lubell, an environmental science and policy professor at UC Davis. “It may be political smoke and mirrors in the long run, but it’s going to take effort to kind of push back on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058095\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12058095 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/GettyImages-2236330121-scaled-e1782512781402.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (center) delivers remarks as President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite>(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The administration said it will review the state’s compliance with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45460\">Coastal Zone Management Act.\u003c/a> The federal law, established in 1972, allows states to develop programs to protect coastal resources and minimize hazards such as flooding and sea-level rise. It also gives states the power to review federal projects to ensure they comply with state rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Warner Chabot was part of the campaign that led to the act’s passage. He said the review is a way for the federal government to bypass the state’s objections to developing coastal waters for oil and gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Trump administration wants to gut or decapitate the Coastal Commission so they can have free rein for auctioning California coastal waters for offshore oil drilling, plain and simple,” Chabot said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot called the review a “new attack” on the state and federal “collaborative relationship” in managing the coastline.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The federal government is already working to open California’s coast to new offshore drilling,” Crowfoot said in a statement. “Our $51 billion coastal economy serves as a powerful engine for the state’s prosperity, and the people of our state must keep a seat at the table to protect it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennifer Savage, California policy associate director for Surfrider Foundation, a conservation group, said the review is “an incredibly serious issue” and an attempt to take the state’s authority from managing its coastline. Savage said \u003ca href=\"https://www.surfrider.org/news/the-federal-government-is-reviewing-californias-coastal-management-program.-heres-what-that-means-for-beaches-everywhere\">the outcome\u003c/a> could lead to the removal of oversight of federal projects and the loss of funding for those projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s clear this is the Trump administration using a federal process to punish California,” Savage said. “We know that the Trump administration does not have California’s protections as their primary interest, and so we need to push back as hard as possible against this effort.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kristina Hill, a UC Berkeley environmental planning professor and expert in sea level rise issues, said federal efforts to undermine the state could lead to “contamination of the environment, lead to public health risks, beach quality and water quality issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s scary to see states’ abilities to protect public health and the environment [potentially] weakened,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hill said that a decision to strip the state of the power to protect the environment would place the onus on local communities to push back against the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "what-is-a-sneaker-wave-how-to-avoid-bay-area-beaches-hidden-deadly-hazards",
"title": "What Is a Sneaker Wave? How to Avoid Bay Area Beaches’ Hidden, Deadly Hazards",
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"content": "\u003cp>One of the longest-running \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=CAZ006&warncounty=CAC075&firewxzone=CAZ006&local_place1=San%20Francisco%20CA&product1=Beach+Hazards+Statement&lat=37.7771&lon=-122.4197\">danger advisories\u003c/a> for Northern California’s beaches is still in effect this week, warning of life-threatening conditions on Bay Area beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, a sneaker wave — a sudden, far-reaching kind of wave that’s notorious for catching beachgoers unawares — could have contributed to the deaths of \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/2-bay-area-college-students-fremont-attended-uc-berkeley-sjsu-die-being-swept-santa-cruz-surf/19306719/\">two women who were swept into the water in Santa Cruz\u003c/a>, according to officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dylan Flynn, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, said the increased risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents along the coast from Sonoma County all the way down to Big Sur has been ongoing for the past month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while “the worst of it looks like it’s behind us,” Flynn said he “wouldn’t be surprised at all if we end up extending this at least to the end of this week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Typically, a beach hazard statement goes out for like two, three days,” he said. “So this is out of the ordinary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/cHul5XbkjxY?si=pvtVWt-Nv_48evk7\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flynn said sneaker waves are especially common at Bay Area beaches, so read on for his top tips on staying safe by the water this week and through the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#BeachesintheBayAreawithsneakerwaverisks\">Beaches in the Bay Area with sneaker wave risks\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Howtostaysafefromsneakerwaves\">How to stay safe from sneaker waves\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Whattodoifyouorsomeoneyouseegetssweptout\">What to do if you or someone you see gets swept out\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What causes sneaker waves, and how can they be predicted?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Flynn explained that sneaker waves come from ocean swells that are spaced far apart from one another, called “long period swells.” Over time and distance as they head from the middle of the ocean toward a beach, these swells build up speed and power, which creates bigger waves and stronger currents, and increases the risk of sneaker waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this case, the long-period swells are being caused by strong trade winds in the tropics, near the equator, Flynn said. “So these waves were generated days ago, and it’s just been really persistent,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service monitors these conditions with buoys in the ocean and satellites that measure wind speed and wave height. They also look at weather models to predict average wave heights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/rNY7EJJafPA?si=FaogHdxRQYhH3j2i\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite this technology, individual sneaker waves can’t be forecasted and might “look like every other wave” to someone on the beach, Flynn explained. So their power and distance — sometimes traveling twice as far upshore as the rest of the waves — often take people by surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re in a boat, you might not even notice them, but when they hit the beach, they have a long time to build up and then they take a long time to go back out,” he said — “and that can create hazardous conditions on the beach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Flynn said, the winds should stop or change direction, but the risk of sneaker waves won’t immediately be reduced because of the delay in the time between when the waves are generated and when they hit the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just have to wait for the ones that are still out there in the ocean to hit the coast, and we’ll go back to normal conditions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"BeachesintheBayAreawithsneakerwaverisks\">\u003c/a>What types of beaches have sneaker waves?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This depends on the direction the swell is coming from, Flynn said. Right now, as is common during the summer months, the swell is coming from the south and southwest from strong trade winds in the tropics, so it’s likely to affect south- or southwest-facing beaches the most. Around the Bay Area, that would include beaches like:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Limantour Beach in Point Reyes\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Surfers Beach in Half Moon Bay\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Several beaches in the Santa Cruz area.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Conversely, in winter, north-facing beaches are a bigger risk, Flynn said. But this can change, and the unpredictability of these waves means that they “can come from any direction — and then that would change where the highest threat level is,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The slope of the beach itself matters, too, Flynn said: A flatter beach gives the swell a runway to travel extra high up the beach, but may be less of a risk of dangerous breaking waves. A steeper beach, on the other hand, can cause breaking waves to build higher and higher — “so the hazards shift,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Howtostaysafefromsneakerwaves\">\u003c/a>What should you do to avoid sneaker waves?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>First, don’t ever turn your back to the ocean, Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re going to be close to the water line, make sure you at least have one eye on the water to see if one of these things is coming,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also be prepared by keeping an eye on \u003ca href=\"https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9414290&legacy=1\">the tide tables\u003c/a>, he recommended — and know that low tide is more dangerous than high tide because it catches people off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088701\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12088701\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1420\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Waves crash on the rocks at Christmas Cove Beach in Laguna on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, as lifeguards were kept busy warning people that they could not go into the dangerous surf. \u003ccite>(Mindy Schauer/MediaNewsGroup/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“High tide is more hazardous in terms of total water; the water will push further up, but it’s usually not as much of a surprise at high tide as it is at low tide,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, at low tide, “be extra cautious if you’re going to set up your blanket or your chairs,” he said. “Even if you seem well set back currently, the tide could rise six or seven feet over a couple of hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you first get to the beach, Flynn advises standing and watching the water for around five minutes before picking a spot to post up. But remember: “Even if you do that, just know you can always get a sneaker wave that goes twice as high up the beach as everything else was,” he said. “So always keep that threat in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Whattodoifyouorsomeoneyouseegetssweptout\">\u003c/a>What happens if you get caught in a sneaker wave or if someone near you does?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the time, Flynn said, a sneaker wave will wash ashore higher than expected, flow up and over your knees and soak your things — maybe even knocking you over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is the occasional wave that will pull people fully into the water.[aside postID=news_12086933 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260610-RISKYWX00337_TV-KQED.jpg']It’s easier said than done, Flynn said, but the most important thing to do if this happens is to “remain calm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the real danger lies in the rip current that keeps people out in the water and away from shore, “that drags you deeper and deeper, and that rip current is stronger than you can swim,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way to safely navigate it is not to fight it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So here’s what you should do if a sneaker wave pulls you into the ocean:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Relax your body\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Just try to float\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When you’re calm, don’t swim against the current and instead\u003ca href=\"https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/oceans-coasts/how-do-i-escape-rip-currents\"> try swimming parallel to the shore\u003c/a> to get out of the current\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Once you stop feeling the pull of the water, make your way back to the beach.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>If you are on the shore and see someone else get pulled out into the water, “stay on the shore,” Flynn said. Too often, people will try to swim out to save a dog or person and get caught in the current, too, creating an even more risky situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What you \u003cem>can \u003c/em>do to help is shout out to the person the instructions above, get the help of a lifeguard or call 911.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to clarify the direction you should swim if you’re caught by a sneaker wave or in a rip current. You should always swim parallel to the shore.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One of the longest-running \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=CAZ006&warncounty=CAC075&firewxzone=CAZ006&local_place1=San%20Francisco%20CA&product1=Beach+Hazards+Statement&lat=37.7771&lon=-122.4197\">danger advisories\u003c/a> for Northern California’s beaches is still in effect this week, warning of life-threatening conditions on Bay Area beaches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, a sneaker wave — a sudden, far-reaching kind of wave that’s notorious for catching beachgoers unawares — could have contributed to the deaths of \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/post/2-bay-area-college-students-fremont-attended-uc-berkeley-sjsu-die-being-swept-santa-cruz-surf/19306719/\">two women who were swept into the water in Santa Cruz\u003c/a>, according to officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dylan Flynn, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, said the increased risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents along the coast from Sonoma County all the way down to Big Sur has been ongoing for the past month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while “the worst of it looks like it’s behind us,” Flynn said he “wouldn’t be surprised at all if we end up extending this at least to the end of this week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Typically, a beach hazard statement goes out for like two, three days,” he said. “So this is out of the ordinary.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/cHul5XbkjxY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/cHul5XbkjxY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Flynn said sneaker waves are especially common at Bay Area beaches, so read on for his top tips on staying safe by the water this week and through the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#BeachesintheBayAreawithsneakerwaverisks\">Beaches in the Bay Area with sneaker wave risks\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Howtostaysafefromsneakerwaves\">How to stay safe from sneaker waves\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Whattodoifyouorsomeoneyouseegetssweptout\">What to do if you or someone you see gets swept out\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What causes sneaker waves, and how can they be predicted?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Flynn explained that sneaker waves come from ocean swells that are spaced far apart from one another, called “long period swells.” Over time and distance as they head from the middle of the ocean toward a beach, these swells build up speed and power, which creates bigger waves and stronger currents, and increases the risk of sneaker waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this case, the long-period swells are being caused by strong trade winds in the tropics, near the equator, Flynn said. “So these waves were generated days ago, and it’s just been really persistent,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Weather Service monitors these conditions with buoys in the ocean and satellites that measure wind speed and wave height. They also look at weather models to predict average wave heights.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/rNY7EJJafPA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rNY7EJJafPA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But despite this technology, individual sneaker waves can’t be forecasted and might “look like every other wave” to someone on the beach, Flynn explained. So their power and distance — sometimes traveling twice as far upshore as the rest of the waves — often take people by surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re in a boat, you might not even notice them, but when they hit the beach, they have a long time to build up and then they take a long time to go back out,” he said — “and that can create hazardous conditions on the beach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Flynn said, the winds should stop or change direction, but the risk of sneaker waves won’t immediately be reduced because of the delay in the time between when the waves are generated and when they hit the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just have to wait for the ones that are still out there in the ocean to hit the coast, and we’ll go back to normal conditions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"BeachesintheBayAreawithsneakerwaverisks\">\u003c/a>What types of beaches have sneaker waves?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This depends on the direction the swell is coming from, Flynn said. Right now, as is common during the summer months, the swell is coming from the south and southwest from strong trade winds in the tropics, so it’s likely to affect south- or southwest-facing beaches the most. Around the Bay Area, that would include beaches like:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Limantour Beach in Point Reyes\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Surfers Beach in Half Moon Bay\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Several beaches in the Santa Cruz area.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Conversely, in winter, north-facing beaches are a bigger risk, Flynn said. But this can change, and the unpredictability of these waves means that they “can come from any direction — and then that would change where the highest threat level is,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The slope of the beach itself matters, too, Flynn said: A flatter beach gives the swell a runway to travel extra high up the beach, but may be less of a risk of dangerous breaking waves. A steeper beach, on the other hand, can cause breaking waves to build higher and higher — “so the hazards shift,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Howtostaysafefromsneakerwaves\">\u003c/a>What should you do to avoid sneaker waves?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>First, don’t ever turn your back to the ocean, Flynn said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re going to be close to the water line, make sure you at least have one eye on the water to see if one of these things is coming,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also be prepared by keeping an eye on \u003ca href=\"https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9414290&legacy=1\">the tide tables\u003c/a>, he recommended — and know that low tide is more dangerous than high tide because it catches people off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12088701\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12088701\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1420\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaRipCurrentsGetty2-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Waves crash on the rocks at Christmas Cove Beach in Laguna on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, as lifeguards were kept busy warning people that they could not go into the dangerous surf. \u003ccite>(Mindy Schauer/MediaNewsGroup/Orange County Register via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“High tide is more hazardous in terms of total water; the water will push further up, but it’s usually not as much of a surprise at high tide as it is at low tide,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, at low tide, “be extra cautious if you’re going to set up your blanket or your chairs,” he said. “Even if you seem well set back currently, the tide could rise six or seven feet over a couple of hours.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you first get to the beach, Flynn advises standing and watching the water for around five minutes before picking a spot to post up. But remember: “Even if you do that, just know you can always get a sneaker wave that goes twice as high up the beach as everything else was,” he said. “So always keep that threat in mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Whattodoifyouorsomeoneyouseegetssweptout\">\u003c/a>What happens if you get caught in a sneaker wave or if someone near you does?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the time, Flynn said, a sneaker wave will wash ashore higher than expected, flow up and over your knees and soak your things — maybe even knocking you over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is the occasional wave that will pull people fully into the water.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It’s easier said than done, Flynn said, but the most important thing to do if this happens is to “remain calm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the real danger lies in the rip current that keeps people out in the water and away from shore, “that drags you deeper and deeper, and that rip current is stronger than you can swim,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only way to safely navigate it is not to fight it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So here’s what you should do if a sneaker wave pulls you into the ocean:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Relax your body\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Just try to float\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When you’re calm, don’t swim against the current and instead\u003ca href=\"https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/oceans-coasts/how-do-i-escape-rip-currents\"> try swimming parallel to the shore\u003c/a> to get out of the current\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Once you stop feeling the pull of the water, make your way back to the beach.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>If you are on the shore and see someone else get pulled out into the water, “stay on the shore,” Flynn said. Too often, people will try to swim out to save a dog or person and get caught in the current, too, creating an even more risky situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What you \u003cem>can \u003c/em>do to help is shout out to the person the instructions above, get the help of a lifeguard or call 911.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to clarify the direction you should swim if you’re caught by a sneaker wave or in a rip current. You should always swim parallel to the shore.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "After Pacifica Pier Damage, Bay Area Leaders Urge Trump to Restore Aid",
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"content": "\u003cp>Bay Area officials are calling on the Trump administration to provide immediate aid for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">Pacifica’s\u003c/a> seawall after its pier and a beloved cafe \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">cracked\u003c/a> this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city last week decided to tear down the Chit Chat Cafe, situated at the end of the Pacific Municipal Pier, so that it wouldn’t crumble into the sea. The pier remains indefinitely closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sam-liccardo\">Sam Liccardo\u003c/a>, whose district includes Pacifica, demanded that the Trump administration reinstate the $50 million it revoked last year, so the city can rebuild the seawall. He is also asking for immediate financial aid to repair parts of the pier and to develop solutions for nearby areas facing significant coastal erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to save this pier,” Liccardo said in front of the dilapidated structure. “We need to do all that we can to protect Pacifica and our coast side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It turns out the climate doesn’t care whether or not we believe in climate change,” he continued. “If we do not act, the ocean will always win the battle over coastal erosion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gordon Prescott, who attended the Chit Chat Cafe’s opening ceremony in 1973, its closure is devastating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087705\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087705\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gordon and Renee Prescott stand near the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We were two of the kids waiting in line when they cut the ribbon,” Prescott said. “It’s kind of like losing an old friend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a June 12 \u003ca href=\"https://liccardo.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/liccardo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/6.12.26-liccardo-letter-to-fema-re-pacifica.pdf\">letter\u003c/a> to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Liccardo said that, although the agency has short-listed the project under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, the city has not been awarded funding because FEMA halted the program. But after a federal judge ordered the agency to make the funding available, FEMA \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/bric-fema-grant-disasters-resilience-mullin-ff0df0da60e3001e19f97bcb7778f41c\">reopened applications\u003c/a> for the resilience grant program in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo wrote that the project is undergoing environmental and historical preservation reviews, and that FEMA could then process the application for the award. He also asked the administration for an extension on a project to strengthen a nearby eroding bluff, where waves and erosion had forced the city to tear down three apartment buildings.[aside postID=news_12087431 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-22-BL_qed.jpg']“It’s unfortunate that Pacifica has lost valuable time on a project that would prevent exactly the damage that occurred at the pier last week,” Liccardo wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also announced new bipartisan legislation, the “Ounce of Prevention” Act, a bill that Liccardo said would allow state and local governments to use Community Development Block Grants for disaster preparedness — not just after a catastrophe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pacifica City Council last week unanimously voted to declare a local state of emergency around the pier. It is also seeking a state of emergency from the governor and help from the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, the city is working to stabilize the pier by adding 150 boulders at the pier’s seawall connection. After that work is finished, City Manager Sean Charpentier said Pacifica will consider two options: bracing the pier from below with a pylon or removing it from the seawall to stabilize the first section of the structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Construction in the coastal zone is very complicated, and we don’t have a time frame for when that would begin right now,” Charpentier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charpentier said that even before the most recent damages, the pier alone would cost around $21 million to fix. The sea wall regularly fails throughout the year, allowing waves to crash over the structure and flood Beach Boulevard. The city’s sea wall project, the Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, would cost more than $80 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles said she hopes the administration reinstates funding so the city can move forward with a plan to rebuild the seawall. She fears that as seas continue to rise, Pacifica’s coastal issues will only worsen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We in Pacifica are the canary in the coal mine for the increasing effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “Sea level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding are already here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boles said the city is beginning to define a community vision for the changing coastline and potential solutions. It will likely hold community listening sessions this fall. But still, she noted, the city needs outside help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Individual cities cannot address these massive global climate threats on our own,” Boles said. “The state and federal government need to bring significantly higher amounts of financial support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Sam Liccardo speaks with Chit Chat Cafe owner Ginger Davis after a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, locals are still reeling from the Chit Chat Cafe’s teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My husband Brandon and I are still in shock,” said Ginger Davis, one of the cafe’s owners. “We all knew that the pier had seen better days, but none of us expected it to end like this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The community has raised more than $30,000 for the couple through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacifica resident Lilia Bae Cadotte spent many early mornings fishing off the pier. She said she would like the city to reopen it as soon as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Pacifica Pier is not just a pier,” Cadotte said. “She’s a home. She’s the gate that unlocks many doors for many people … and it is a source that provides us food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Bay Area officials are calling on the Trump administration to provide immediate aid for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">Pacifica’s\u003c/a> seawall after its pier and a beloved cafe \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">cracked\u003c/a> this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city last week decided to tear down the Chit Chat Cafe, situated at the end of the Pacific Municipal Pier, so that it wouldn’t crumble into the sea. The pier remains indefinitely closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congressman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sam-liccardo\">Sam Liccardo\u003c/a>, whose district includes Pacifica, demanded that the Trump administration reinstate the $50 million it revoked last year, so the city can rebuild the seawall. He is also asking for immediate financial aid to repair parts of the pier and to develop solutions for nearby areas facing significant coastal erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to save this pier,” Liccardo said in front of the dilapidated structure. “We need to do all that we can to protect Pacifica and our coast side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It turns out the climate doesn’t care whether or not we believe in climate change,” he continued. “If we do not act, the ocean will always win the battle over coastal erosion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Gordon Prescott, who attended the Chit Chat Cafe’s opening ceremony in 1973, its closure is devastating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087705\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087705\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gordon and Renee Prescott stand near the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We were two of the kids waiting in line when they cut the ribbon,” Prescott said. “It’s kind of like losing an old friend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a June 12 \u003ca href=\"https://liccardo.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/liccardo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/6.12.26-liccardo-letter-to-fema-re-pacifica.pdf\">letter\u003c/a> to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Liccardo said that, although the agency has short-listed the project under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, the city has not been awarded funding because FEMA halted the program. But after a federal judge ordered the agency to make the funding available, FEMA \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/bric-fema-grant-disasters-resilience-mullin-ff0df0da60e3001e19f97bcb7778f41c\">reopened applications\u003c/a> for the resilience grant program in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Liccardo wrote that the project is undergoing environmental and historical preservation reviews, and that FEMA could then process the application for the award. He also asked the administration for an extension on a project to strengthen a nearby eroding bluff, where waves and erosion had forced the city to tear down three apartment buildings.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s unfortunate that Pacifica has lost valuable time on a project that would prevent exactly the damage that occurred at the pier last week,” Liccardo wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also announced new bipartisan legislation, the “Ounce of Prevention” Act, a bill that Liccardo said would allow state and local governments to use Community Development Block Grants for disaster preparedness — not just after a catastrophe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Pacifica City Council last week unanimously voted to declare a local state of emergency around the pier. It is also seeking a state of emergency from the governor and help from the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, the city is working to stabilize the pier by adding 150 boulders at the pier’s seawall connection. After that work is finished, City Manager Sean Charpentier said Pacifica will consider two options: bracing the pier from below with a pylon or removing it from the seawall to stabilize the first section of the structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Construction in the coastal zone is very complicated, and we don’t have a time frame for when that would begin right now,” Charpentier said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charpentier said that even before the most recent damages, the pier alone would cost around $21 million to fix. The sea wall regularly fails throughout the year, allowing waves to crash over the structure and flood Beach Boulevard. The city’s sea wall project, the Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, would cost more than $80 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles said she hopes the administration reinstates funding so the city can move forward with a plan to rebuild the seawall. She fears that as seas continue to rise, Pacifica’s coastal issues will only worsen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We in Pacifica are the canary in the coal mine for the increasing effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “Sea level rise, coastal erosion, and flooding are already here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boles said the city is beginning to define a community vision for the changing coastline and potential solutions. It will likely hold community listening sessions this fall. But still, she noted, the city needs outside help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Individual cities cannot address these massive global climate threats on our own,” Boles said. “The state and federal government need to bring significantly higher amounts of financial support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12087653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Sam Liccardo speaks with Chit Chat Cafe owner Ginger Davis after a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, locals are still reeling from the Chit Chat Cafe’s teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My husband Brandon and I are still in shock,” said Ginger Davis, one of the cafe’s owners. “We all knew that the pier had seen better days, but none of us expected it to end like this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The community has raised more than $30,000 for the couple through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacifica resident Lilia Bae Cadotte spent many early mornings fishing off the pier. She said she would like the city to reopen it as soon as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Pacifica Pier is not just a pier,” Cadotte said. “She’s a home. She’s the gate that unlocks many doors for many people … and it is a source that provides us food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Environmentalists Celebrate ‘Retirement’ of Platform Esther, a SoCal Oil Rig",
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"content": "\u003cp>Environmental activists partied outside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> Ferry Building on Friday to celebrate the decommission of a Southern California oil rig.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity called the event a “retirement party” for Platform Esther, a soon-to-be decommissioned oil rig off the coast of Orange County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Activists donned party hats and performed their own rendition of Kool & the Gang’s \u003cem>Celebration\u003c/em>, renamed \u003cem>Decommission. \u003c/em>They danced with a giant inflatable whale, and tore into a blue-iced cake decorated with a paper cutout of an oil rig.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the Ferry Building, the California State Lands Commission officially finalized the decommission at a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is actually a historic win. This platform is being retired about fifteen years ahead of the official end of its useful life,” said Ilonka Zlatar, an organizer with Oil and Gas Action Network. “We want to thank the State Lands Commission and the agencies that are standing up and helping us to transition into the clean energy economy that we need.”[aside postID=news_12035274 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/SantaBarbaraOilPlatform-1020x765.jpg']Platform Esther was first built in 1965 and is located 1.5 miles off the coast of Seal Beach. It was rebuilt in the ’80s after sustaining major damage from a winter storm in 1983. Production officially ceased in August 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New leases for oil drilling off the coast haven’t been approved since 1984, and past Republican presidents have worked with Democrats in protecting California’s waters from drilling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But conservation efforts have faced new threats under the current and past Trump administrations, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/trump-offshore-drilling-21116334.php\">recently revealed a proposal\u003c/a> to dramatically ramp up oil drilling off California’s coast to increase the country’s energy independence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That plan will likely meet a barrage of obstacles in the form of local and state environmental regulations, with officials already expressing strong opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those looming threats weren’t enough to dampen the enthusiasm at Platform Esther’s retirement party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really great to see agencies like the State Lands Commission taking bold steps like this to shut down oil operations in state waters,” said Brady Bradshaw, a senior oceans campaigner with the Center. “We’re hoping to see the state continue to fight against proposals like what’s coming with the Trump administration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Environmental activists partied outside the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> Ferry Building on Friday to celebrate the decommission of a Southern California oil rig.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Center for Biological Diversity called the event a “retirement party” for Platform Esther, a soon-to-be decommissioned oil rig off the coast of Orange County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Activists donned party hats and performed their own rendition of Kool & the Gang’s \u003cem>Celebration\u003c/em>, renamed \u003cem>Decommission. \u003c/em>They danced with a giant inflatable whale, and tore into a blue-iced cake decorated with a paper cutout of an oil rig.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the Ferry Building, the California State Lands Commission officially finalized the decommission at a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is actually a historic win. This platform is being retired about fifteen years ahead of the official end of its useful life,” said Ilonka Zlatar, an organizer with Oil and Gas Action Network. “We want to thank the State Lands Commission and the agencies that are standing up and helping us to transition into the clean energy economy that we need.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Platform Esther was first built in 1965 and is located 1.5 miles off the coast of Seal Beach. It was rebuilt in the ’80s after sustaining major damage from a winter storm in 1983. Production officially ceased in August 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New leases for oil drilling off the coast haven’t been approved since 1984, and past Republican presidents have worked with Democrats in protecting California’s waters from drilling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But conservation efforts have faced new threats under the current and past Trump administrations, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/trump-offshore-drilling-21116334.php\">recently revealed a proposal\u003c/a> to dramatically ramp up oil drilling off California’s coast to increase the country’s energy independence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That plan will likely meet a barrage of obstacles in the form of local and state environmental regulations, with officials already expressing strong opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those looming threats weren’t enough to dampen the enthusiasm at Platform Esther’s retirement party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really great to see agencies like the State Lands Commission taking bold steps like this to shut down oil operations in state waters,” said Brady Bradshaw, a senior oceans campaigner with the Center. “We’re hoping to see the state continue to fight against proposals like what’s coming with the Trump administration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "big-sur-visit-highway-one-closed-best-hikes-state-parks-camping-cabins",
"title": "Want to Visit Big Sur From the Bay Area? Here's How to Work Around the Highway 1 Closure",
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"content": "\u003cp>Another year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988380/want-to-go-camping-in-big-sur-this-summer-what-to-know\">another summer of the same closure on Highway 1 near Big Sur\u003c/a>, meaning you \u003cem>still\u003c/em> can’t drive all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles along this iconic stretch of California coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Big Sur’s mountainous nature means the area is no stranger to slipouts and landslides that frequently close the highway, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DMB-P0Ts6Sf/?igsh=c3AwdHU3cWdxNDlt\">the “Regent’s Slide,” a 6-mile stretch of road just north of Lucia, remains closed indefinitely\u003c/a>, although \u003ca href=\"https://www.ksbw.com/article/highway-1-reopening-brings-big-sur-businesses/65452677\">California officials say there’ll be an update about the timeline in mid-August. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s good news: Here in the Bay Area, we’re lucky to be on the north side of the closure, where ample state parks, camping spots and historic places in Big Sur are still accessible via Highway 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the north side, there’s still tons of stuff to do,” State Parks Monterey District Chief Ranger Mike Dippel said. And despite the closure, the coast north of the Regent’s Slide closure has still been busy, Dippel said, as visitors from the north make their out-and-back trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you’re hoping to visit Big Sur this summer and want to work around the Highway 1 closure, read on for how to make the most of a Big Sur road trip from the Bay Area this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#best-hikes-big-sur\">What to see in Big Sur during the Highway 1 closure\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WherecanIstayinBigSur\">Where to stay north of the closure in Big Sur\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#ProtipsfromtheexpertsforagreatBigSurvisit\">Pro tips from the experts for a great Big Sur visit\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Where \u003cem>can’t \u003c/em>I get to in Big Sur from the Bay Area during the highway closure?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When driving south on Highway 1 from the Bay Area, you’ll be able to get as far as the Esalen Institute, but then you’ll have to turn around. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/highway-1-conditions/\">The Regent’s Slide closure here extends all the way from Esalen to Lucia Lodge\u003c/a>, meaning that there is \u003cem>no \u003c/em>direct Highway 1 access from the Bay Area to destinations like:[aside postID=news_11988380 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-1020x681.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://visitcambriaca.com/\">Cambria\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=590\">San Simeon\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://hearstcastle.org/\">Hearst Castle\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=577\">Limekiln State Park\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044161/bay-area-camping-alternatives-glamping-yurts-cabins-big-sur\">Treebones Resort\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.raggedpointinn.com/\">Ragged Point\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://elephantseal.org/live-view/\">The elephant seal lookout at Piedras Blancas\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>To get to the above locations directly from the Bay, you’ll have to go the long way around, by taking Highway 101 to Paso Robles, then Highway 46 west to Cambria, picking up Highway 1 north. Adventurous drivers could also consider taking 101 to Pine Canyon, then using Jolon Road and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWfw4MBIsA\">Nacimiento-Fergusson Road\u003c/a> to travel west over the Santa Lucia mountains and rejoin Highway 1 south of Regent’s Slide at Kirk Creek, but be warned that these are winding mountain roads that could become treacherous in adverse weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re determined to visit these locations south of Regent’s Slide while still experiencing some of that iconic Highway 1 drive south through Big Sur? You can totally do that, but remember that you’ll have to double back at least as far as Monterey to rejoin Highway 101 south, adding many extra hours to your journey.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WherecanIstayinBigSur\">\u003c/a>Where can I stay in Big Sur north of the highway closure?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The most popular place to camp is in the Big Sur Valley, either at \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570\">Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park\u003c/a>, which tends to get booked out well in advance, or at one of the around a dozen other private campgrounds and cabin stays in the area. In the valley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bigsurcamp.com/\">Big Sur Campgrounds & Cabins\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://fernwoodbigsur.com/\">Fernwood Resort & Campground\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.riversidecampground.com/\">Riverside Campgrounds & Cabins\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ventanacamping.com/\">Ventana Campground\u003c/a> offer a full range of options for pitching your tent or parking an RV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t score a campsite within the state park itself, you can still always enter the state parks with a day-use pass if you’re staying nearby. Looking for a reservationless dispersed camping spot or alternatives outside of the valley? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988380/want-to-go-camping-in-big-sur-this-summer-what-to-know\">Read more about where to camp in Big Sur\u003c/a>, from Andrew Molera and Julie Pfeiffer Burns state parks to dispersed camping options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brian Baer via California State Parks 2025 )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Big Sur Valley “can get very crowded with lots of people, but it’s absolutely beautiful out there,” Dippel said, noting that the weather is typically much sunnier in the valley than directly on the coast. “You can almost guarantee that it’s going to be sunny when you get into Big Sur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Big Sur River runs through the valley and offers lots of opportunities for floating, tubing and swimming, particularly at the \u003ca href=\"http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/big-sur-river-gorge-trail\">Big Sur River Gorge.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And don’t worry about finding something to eat, most lodges have their own dining options, plus iconic waterfront restaurants like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nepenthe.com/\">Nepenthe\u003c/a> are open all year round. Just watch for kitchen closing times on the earlier side.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"best-hikes-big-sur\">\u003c/a>What places in Big Sur can I still visit while the highway’s closed?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even with the Highway 1 closure in place at Esalen, there are still a massive number of hiking trails, vista points and iconic landmarks that are accessible from the north. That includes:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Point Lobos\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Garrapata State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Bixby Bridge\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Point Sur Lightstation\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Andrew Molera State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pfeiffer Beach\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hawthorne Gallery\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Henry Miller Library\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>McWay Falls.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>With \u003cem>so many \u003c/em>iconic spots to stop along Highway 1’s steep, winding two-lane roads, Dippel warned visitors to stay aware at the most popular spots like \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitcalifornia.com/experience/bixby-bridge/\">Bixby Bridge\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=571\">Point Lobos\u003c/a>, where traffic and parking can get congested. For a more serene trip, you can consider coming during off times like weekdays or less busy seasons, he advised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049150\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Point Lobos Nature Reserve. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brian Baer via California State Parks 2025 )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When you do come, just make sure you have awareness and are looking out for pedestrian traffic and vehicles suddenly stopping and trying to pull over,” Dippel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further down the coast is \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/pfeiffer-beach--4\">Pfeiffer Beach\u003c/a> with its famous rocky archway, which gets packed on popular weekend days, especially at sunset. \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/overlook-trail-to-mcway-falls-and-saddle-rock\">The overlook of McWay Falls\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578\">Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park\u003c/a> is also a particularly crowded spot, although be warned that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29888\">trail down to the falls \u003c/a>is currently closed. Dippel also recommended checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/partington-cove-trail\">Partington Cove\u003c/a>, a short hike from the highway into a redwood valley, through a tunnel and to an overlook of the cove.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Are there any spots in Big Sur where I can avoid crowds?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While nowhere on the coast is truly immune to peak season weekend crowds, Dippel suggested checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=579\">Garrapata State Park\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582\">Andrew Molera State Park\u003c/a> for some more space to spread out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Andrew Molera is just the iconic coastal California state park that encompasses everything: from the beach to the redwoods, to beautiful trails for beginners to advanced trails that want to go up a really big vertical incline or travel distance,” Dippel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recommends doing part or all of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/creamery-meadow-bluffs-panorama-and-ridge-trail-loop\"> 8-mile bluff loop trail\u003c/a> or for a more relaxed hike, check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/walk-to-andrew-molera-beach\">Molera Beach\u003c/a> at the mouth of the Big Sur River.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What else can I do in Big Sur aside from sightseeing and hiking?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In addition to the vistas, camping and hiking, there are also a few stops along the way to give you more insight into the area’s culture and history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tours of the historic \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=565\">Point Sur State Historic Park\u003c/a> lighthouse, run by volunteer docents, take you from Highway 1 over private ranch land to the iconic light station out on a rock formation overlooking the ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11701342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11701342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Pt. Sur Lighthouse has been operating since 1889. It’s one of California’s oldest and most remote light stations. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This lighthouse, built in 1889, “was a pretty remote station back before Highway 1 was put in,” said Carol O’Neil, volunteer historian at Point Sur, and it’s easy to imagine this isolation when you visit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In three hours, you’ll learn about the history of the light station, plus tour the barn, blacksmith shop, keepers’ quarters and the lighthouse itself. Volunteer docents also lead another tour of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pointsur.org/documents/nav_fac.pdf\">adjacent “top secret” Cold War-era naval facility\u003c/a> on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. There are no reservations; all tours are first-come, first-served, so come around 30 minutes early to secure a spot, O’Neil said. They also offer moonlight tours of the light station during full moons in the summer.[aside postID=news_12048728 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/IMG_7302-2000x1500.jpg']Another can’t-miss spot along the coast is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.henrymiller.org/\">Henry Miller Library\u003c/a>, “where nothing happens,” joked Magnus Toren, the library’s director since 1993. Honoring the American writer, who lived in Big Sur from 1944 to 1963, the library houses works by Miller and his contemporaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spirit of Miller, the collection of books is curated to highlight local cultural and natural history and to maximize expression — without shying away from controversy, Toren said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We bring in books that irritate people all across the board,” Toren said. “Books and words can cause a lot of emotion, which I think is an important thing to maybe put into people’s faces sometimes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while the library is a place to relax and enjoy sitting in the grass, on the deck or browsing books, it’s also \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/o/henry-miller-memorial-library-440462807\">the unassuming site of many iconic musical artists\u003c/a> who have performed there, including Patti Smith, Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Shins. But Toren said their real priority is to be a space for local performers up and down the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s still a very unassuming, in some ways, place that welcomes people of all stripes,” Toren said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"ProtipsfromtheexpertsforagreatBigSurvisit\">\u003c/a>Pro tips from the experts for a great Big Sur visit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of all, when visiting Big Sur, always have a backup plan in case of crowded parking lots or unexpected traffic, Dippel said. To avoid the worst of the crowds, he advised that you consider spacing out your key stops across your arrival and return journeys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the drive will not have good cell service, so make sure you have a way to navigate in a signal-dead zone, for example, by \u003ca href=\"https://blog.google/products/maps/google-maps-offline/\">downloading Offline Maps from Google Maps\u003c/a>. If you’re visiting the region with friends in multiple cars, make sure you know where you’ll meet up without being able to call or text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11988415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11988415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Planning a quick Big Sur camping getaway? Stick to the northern options closer to the Bay Area. Choose from public and private campgrounds or dispersed wilderness camping. \u003ccite>(Cavan Images/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are few gas stations in the Big Sur area, and for diesel trucks and cars, the last place to fill up is in Carmel, Dippel stressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dippel also advises that visitors bring and drink more water than they think they might need, as the Big Sur coast tends to be much warmer than more northern coastal areas. There is also an abundance of \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29161\">poison oak and ticks\u003c/a> in the area, in addition to some larger wildlife like mountain lions and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040111/rattlesnakes-bay-area-warning-venom-bites-rattlesnake-vs-gophersnake\">rattlesnakes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We end up on a lot of rescues with folks that haven’t been drinking water, haven’t taken electrolytes or didn’t have enough food,” he said. “They thought it was going to be foggy or cold … and they’re just not prepared for the heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting by KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/carlysevern\">\u003cem>Carly Severn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kdomara\">\u003cem>Kelly O’Mara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Highway 1 may still be closed at the Esalen Institue, but Bay Area visitors to Big Sur are in luck: Most of the area’s parks and hiking trails are north of the closure and waiting for you this summer.",
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"title": "Want to Visit Big Sur From the Bay Area? Here's How to Work Around the Highway 1 Closure | KQED",
"description": "Highway 1 may still be closed at the Esalen Institue, but Bay Area visitors to Big Sur are in luck: Most of the area’s parks and hiking trails are north of the closure and waiting for you this summer.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Another year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988380/want-to-go-camping-in-big-sur-this-summer-what-to-know\">another summer of the same closure on Highway 1 near Big Sur\u003c/a>, meaning you \u003cem>still\u003c/em> can’t drive all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles along this iconic stretch of California coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Big Sur’s mountainous nature means the area is no stranger to slipouts and landslides that frequently close the highway, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DMB-P0Ts6Sf/?igsh=c3AwdHU3cWdxNDlt\">the “Regent’s Slide,” a 6-mile stretch of road just north of Lucia, remains closed indefinitely\u003c/a>, although \u003ca href=\"https://www.ksbw.com/article/highway-1-reopening-brings-big-sur-businesses/65452677\">California officials say there’ll be an update about the timeline in mid-August. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s good news: Here in the Bay Area, we’re lucky to be on the north side of the closure, where ample state parks, camping spots and historic places in Big Sur are still accessible via Highway 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the north side, there’s still tons of stuff to do,” State Parks Monterey District Chief Ranger Mike Dippel said. And despite the closure, the coast north of the Regent’s Slide closure has still been busy, Dippel said, as visitors from the north make their out-and-back trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you’re hoping to visit Big Sur this summer and want to work around the Highway 1 closure, read on for how to make the most of a Big Sur road trip from the Bay Area this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#best-hikes-big-sur\">What to see in Big Sur during the Highway 1 closure\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WherecanIstayinBigSur\">Where to stay north of the closure in Big Sur\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#ProtipsfromtheexpertsforagreatBigSurvisit\">Pro tips from the experts for a great Big Sur visit\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>Where \u003cem>can’t \u003c/em>I get to in Big Sur from the Bay Area during the highway closure?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When driving south on Highway 1 from the Bay Area, you’ll be able to get as far as the Esalen Institute, but then you’ll have to turn around. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/highway-1-conditions/\">The Regent’s Slide closure here extends all the way from Esalen to Lucia Lodge\u003c/a>, meaning that there is \u003cem>no \u003c/em>direct Highway 1 access from the Bay Area to destinations like:\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://visitcambriaca.com/\">Cambria\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=590\">San Simeon\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://hearstcastle.org/\">Hearst Castle\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=577\">Limekiln State Park\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044161/bay-area-camping-alternatives-glamping-yurts-cabins-big-sur\">Treebones Resort\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.raggedpointinn.com/\">Ragged Point\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://elephantseal.org/live-view/\">The elephant seal lookout at Piedras Blancas\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>To get to the above locations directly from the Bay, you’ll have to go the long way around, by taking Highway 101 to Paso Robles, then Highway 46 west to Cambria, picking up Highway 1 north. Adventurous drivers could also consider taking 101 to Pine Canyon, then using Jolon Road and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWfw4MBIsA\">Nacimiento-Fergusson Road\u003c/a> to travel west over the Santa Lucia mountains and rejoin Highway 1 south of Regent’s Slide at Kirk Creek, but be warned that these are winding mountain roads that could become treacherous in adverse weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re determined to visit these locations south of Regent’s Slide while still experiencing some of that iconic Highway 1 drive south through Big Sur? You can totally do that, but remember that you’ll have to double back at least as far as Monterey to rejoin Highway 101 south, adding many extra hours to your journey.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WherecanIstayinBigSur\">\u003c/a>Where can I stay in Big Sur north of the highway closure?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The most popular place to camp is in the Big Sur Valley, either at \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570\">Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park\u003c/a>, which tends to get booked out well in advance, or at one of the around a dozen other private campgrounds and cabin stays in the area. In the valley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bigsurcamp.com/\">Big Sur Campgrounds & Cabins\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://fernwoodbigsur.com/\">Fernwood Resort & Campground\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.riversidecampground.com/\">Riverside Campgrounds & Cabins\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ventanacamping.com/\">Ventana Campground\u003c/a> offer a full range of options for pitching your tent or parking an RV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t score a campsite within the state park itself, you can still always enter the state parks with a day-use pass if you’re staying nearby. Looking for a reservationless dispersed camping spot or alternatives outside of the valley? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11988380/want-to-go-camping-in-big-sur-this-summer-what-to-know\">Read more about where to camp in Big Sur\u003c/a>, from Andrew Molera and Julie Pfeiffer Burns state parks to dispersed camping options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Julia-Pfeiffer-Burns-CA-Parks-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brian Baer via California State Parks 2025 )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Big Sur Valley “can get very crowded with lots of people, but it’s absolutely beautiful out there,” Dippel said, noting that the weather is typically much sunnier in the valley than directly on the coast. “You can almost guarantee that it’s going to be sunny when you get into Big Sur.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Big Sur River runs through the valley and offers lots of opportunities for floating, tubing and swimming, particularly at the \u003ca href=\"http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/big-sur-river-gorge-trail\">Big Sur River Gorge.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And don’t worry about finding something to eat, most lodges have their own dining options, plus iconic waterfront restaurants like \u003ca href=\"https://www.nepenthe.com/\">Nepenthe\u003c/a> are open all year round. Just watch for kitchen closing times on the earlier side.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"best-hikes-big-sur\">\u003c/a>What places in Big Sur can I still visit while the highway’s closed?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even with the Highway 1 closure in place at Esalen, there are still a massive number of hiking trails, vista points and iconic landmarks that are accessible from the north. That includes:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Point Lobos\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Garrapata State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Bixby Bridge\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Point Sur Lightstation\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Andrew Molera State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pfeiffer Beach\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hawthorne Gallery\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Henry Miller Library\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>McWay Falls.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>With \u003cem>so many \u003c/em>iconic spots to stop along Highway 1’s steep, winding two-lane roads, Dippel warned visitors to stay aware at the most popular spots like \u003ca href=\"https://www.visitcalifornia.com/experience/bixby-bridge/\">Bixby Bridge\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=571\">Point Lobos\u003c/a>, where traffic and parking can get congested. For a more serene trip, you can consider coming during off times like weekdays or less busy seasons, he advised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049150\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Lobos-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Point Lobos Nature Reserve. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Brian Baer via California State Parks 2025 )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When you do come, just make sure you have awareness and are looking out for pedestrian traffic and vehicles suddenly stopping and trying to pull over,” Dippel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further down the coast is \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/pfeiffer-beach--4\">Pfeiffer Beach\u003c/a> with its famous rocky archway, which gets packed on popular weekend days, especially at sunset. \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/overlook-trail-to-mcway-falls-and-saddle-rock\">The overlook of McWay Falls\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578\">Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park\u003c/a> is also a particularly crowded spot, although be warned that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29888\">trail down to the falls \u003c/a>is currently closed. Dippel also recommended checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/partington-cove-trail\">Partington Cove\u003c/a>, a short hike from the highway into a redwood valley, through a tunnel and to an overlook of the cove.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Are there any spots in Big Sur where I can avoid crowds?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While nowhere on the coast is truly immune to peak season weekend crowds, Dippel suggested checking out \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=579\">Garrapata State Park\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582\">Andrew Molera State Park\u003c/a> for some more space to spread out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Andrew Molera is just the iconic coastal California state park that encompasses everything: from the beach to the redwoods, to beautiful trails for beginners to advanced trails that want to go up a really big vertical incline or travel distance,” Dippel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recommends doing part or all of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/creamery-meadow-bluffs-panorama-and-ridge-trail-loop\"> 8-mile bluff loop trail\u003c/a> or for a more relaxed hike, check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/walk-to-andrew-molera-beach\">Molera Beach\u003c/a> at the mouth of the Big Sur River.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What else can I do in Big Sur aside from sightseeing and hiking?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In addition to the vistas, camping and hiking, there are also a few stops along the way to give you more insight into the area’s culture and history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tours of the historic \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=565\">Point Sur State Historic Park\u003c/a> lighthouse, run by volunteer docents, take you from Highway 1 over private ranch land to the iconic light station out on a rock formation overlooking the ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11701342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11701342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/10/RS33425_84AD42F7-6D7C-4746-919E-8EE605106069-qut-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Pt. Sur Lighthouse has been operating since 1889. It’s one of California’s oldest and most remote light stations. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This lighthouse, built in 1889, “was a pretty remote station back before Highway 1 was put in,” said Carol O’Neil, volunteer historian at Point Sur, and it’s easy to imagine this isolation when you visit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In three hours, you’ll learn about the history of the light station, plus tour the barn, blacksmith shop, keepers’ quarters and the lighthouse itself. Volunteer docents also lead another tour of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pointsur.org/documents/nav_fac.pdf\">adjacent “top secret” Cold War-era naval facility\u003c/a> on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. There are no reservations; all tours are first-come, first-served, so come around 30 minutes early to secure a spot, O’Neil said. They also offer moonlight tours of the light station during full moons in the summer.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Another can’t-miss spot along the coast is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.henrymiller.org/\">Henry Miller Library\u003c/a>, “where nothing happens,” joked Magnus Toren, the library’s director since 1993. Honoring the American writer, who lived in Big Sur from 1944 to 1963, the library houses works by Miller and his contemporaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spirit of Miller, the collection of books is curated to highlight local cultural and natural history and to maximize expression — without shying away from controversy, Toren said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We bring in books that irritate people all across the board,” Toren said. “Books and words can cause a lot of emotion, which I think is an important thing to maybe put into people’s faces sometimes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while the library is a place to relax and enjoy sitting in the grass, on the deck or browsing books, it’s also \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/o/henry-miller-memorial-library-440462807\">the unassuming site of many iconic musical artists\u003c/a> who have performed there, including Patti Smith, Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Shins. But Toren said their real priority is to be a space for local performers up and down the coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s still a very unassuming, in some ways, place that welcomes people of all stripes,” Toren said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"ProtipsfromtheexpertsforagreatBigSurvisit\">\u003c/a>Pro tips from the experts for a great Big Sur visit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of all, when visiting Big Sur, always have a backup plan in case of crowded parking lots or unexpected traffic, Dippel said. To avoid the worst of the crowds, he advised that you consider spacing out your key stops across your arrival and return journeys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the drive will not have good cell service, so make sure you have a way to navigate in a signal-dead zone, for example, by \u003ca href=\"https://blog.google/products/maps/google-maps-offline/\">downloading Offline Maps from Google Maps\u003c/a>. If you’re visiting the region with friends in multiple cars, make sure you know where you’ll meet up without being able to call or text.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11988415\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11988415\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/BigSurCamping-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Planning a quick Big Sur camping getaway? Stick to the northern options closer to the Bay Area. Choose from public and private campgrounds or dispersed wilderness camping. \u003ccite>(Cavan Images/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are few gas stations in the Big Sur area, and for diesel trucks and cars, the last place to fill up is in Carmel, Dippel stressed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dippel also advises that visitors bring and drink more water than they think they might need, as the Big Sur coast tends to be much warmer than more northern coastal areas. There is also an abundance of \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29161\">poison oak and ticks\u003c/a> in the area, in addition to some larger wildlife like mountain lions and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12040111/rattlesnakes-bay-area-warning-venom-bites-rattlesnake-vs-gophersnake\">rattlesnakes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We end up on a lot of rescues with folks that haven’t been drinking water, haven’t taken electrolytes or didn’t have enough food,” he said. “They thought it was going to be foggy or cold … and they’re just not prepared for the heat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story includes reporting by KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/carlysevern\">\u003cem>Carly Severn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/kdomara\">\u003cem>Kelly O’Mara\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCeDp_MY_h4G6VWj_-VPl-BJlQ3Uya2H0vxRZZd_47BpXwVA/viewform?embedded=true'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "dont-go-into-the-water-at-ocean-beach-sf-officials-urge-ahead-of-memorial-day-weekend",
"title": "‘Don’t Go Into the Water’ at Ocean Beach, SF Officials Urge Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend",
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"headTitle": "‘Don’t Go Into the Water’ at Ocean Beach, SF Officials Urge Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Bottom line: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ocean-beach\">Ocean Beach\u003c/a> don’t play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of a sunny Memorial Day weekend, the San Francisco Fire Department is urging anyone headed to the city’s beachfront to, in no uncertain terms, stay the hell out of the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ocean Beach is its own animal. And we want to just have people aware of it,” said Mariano Elias, a Fire Department spokesperson. “Because people have died. … That is the reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless you’re a very strong swimmer or surfer familiar with the water at this beach and have reviewed the most recent tide charts, the general recommendation is “don’t go into the water,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://files.constantcontact.com/5e99cb80601/6958c4fd-a1c9-47bc-a470-d6c6ca6f880e.pdf\">The warning\u003c/a>, issued in partnership with local offices of the National Park Service and National Weather Service, which help manage and monitor the shoreline, follows a series of recent instances of people getting swept away by the beach’s notoriously strong rip currents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033006\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033006\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the Sunset District and Ocean Beach in San Francisco on March 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In one fatal incident this month, a man who tried to retrieve his dog from the water at Ocean Beach near Lawton Street got caught in the current and lost consciousness. Two bystanders pulled him out of the water, attempted CPR and called 911. Fire Department rescuers were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead, Elias said, noting that the dog made it out of the water on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department has not yet released information on the man’s identity, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two days later, on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, members of the department’s surf rescue team responded to another incident, near Fort Funston, where a young man from Modesto went swimming and got similarly pulled out by the current, Elias said. The man’s younger brother jumped in to try to help him but got caught as well, and he ended up fighting the current for about 20 minutes before making it back to shore, completely fatigued, with his unconscious brother in tow, onlookers reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-12041149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/Rip_Currents_Sign4-20top-Copy-e1747867324142.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"236\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has happened before, I’ve seen it in my career, where a family comes to the beach to enjoy the water and the warm weather,” said Elias, whose department fields an average of about 45 Ocean Beach-related rescue calls each year. “It’s warm, so they want to get in the water and swim.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fire rescue crew was able to revive both brothers after transporting them to the parking lot on the cliff above the beach and performing life-saving measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elias, who was part of that day’s rescue operation, noted that when members of a surf rescue crew respond to an incident like this, it takes their entire fire station offline for the duration of the rescue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does take quite a few individuals to do an operation like this,” he said. “Someone in the water would take out that whole station out of play for another 911 call.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is a rip current?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A rip current, sometimes referred to (incorrectly) as a rip tide, is defined as a localized current that flows toward the ocean “perpendicular or at an acute angle to the shoreline,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/03coastal3.html#:~:text=When%20waves%20travel%20from%20deep,the%20force%20of%20the%20current.\">the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u003c/a>. It commonly forms close to shore around low spots or breaks in sandbars, as well as near structures like jetties and piers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A rip current can look like a strip of darker water forming a gap in the waves breaking around it, and it is much easier to spot from higher ground, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-science\">National Weather Service\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/RJ4hcaJ91TY?si=9uRQlApyBIdy53ki\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A person caught in a rip can be swept away from shore very quickly,” according to NOAA’s site, which notes that the currents don’t actually pull you under and emphasizes the importance of not panicking if caught in one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best way to escape a rip current is by swimming parallel to the shore instead of toward it, since most rip currents are less than 80 feet wide. A swimmer can also let the current carry them out to sea until the force weakens, because rip currents stay close to shore and usually dissipate just beyond the line of breaking waves, NOAA’s site said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 3.5-mile expanse of Ocean Beach lining San Francisco’s western perimeter is widely considered \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Why-S-F-s-Ocean-Beach-is-Deadly-Several-3002654.php\">among the most dangerous stretches of urban shoreline\u003c/a> in the country, the force of its rips fueled by billions of gallons of water that slosh in and out of the Golden Gate during each tidal shift, creating unusual lateral currents. Additionally, the beach faces prevailing westerly swells and winds, and its coarse-grained sand creates a steep gradient, all of which helps strengthen the force of rips.[aside postID=news_12036078 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250412_SunsetDunesGrandOpening_GC-15_qed-1020x680.jpg']Although warning signs are posted at the entrances to the beach, there are no lifeguards, and the water can often appear deceptively calm, veiling the forces beneath its surface. Even shallow areas can be dangerous, with instances of people being swept out in just 3 feet of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ocean Beach is NOT a swimming beach, and the public should NOT enter the water,” the fire department’s joint press release states. The ocean, it said, is “insidiously dangerous in the summer months, luring people in during times of heat and seemingly benign conditions only to be swept into cold, turbulent waters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This statement encourages people who want to swim to go to nearby Stinson Beach, across the bridge in Marin, where Golden Gate National Recreation Area staffs on-duty lifeguards seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement goes on to note that the Pacific coastline attracts visitors from around the world for “its rugged beauty,” imploring visitors to “live to share your wonderful stories and photos.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Tips to stay safe in a rip current\u003c/h2>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Stay calm — rip currents don’t pull you under.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If caught in a rip current, do not fight it.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Swim parallel to shore, and then once out of the current, back towards shore.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you can’t escape, float or tread water to conserve energy until you are rescued.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you need help, wave your hands high in the air and call for help.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Keep pets on a leash and do not swim after them if they get swept into the sea. Most dogs will get out of the water on their own (and cats won’t get near it).\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The San Francisco Fire Department’s warning for all but the strongest swimmers or surfers follows recent instances of people getting swept away by the beach’s notorious rip currents. ",
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"title": "‘Don’t Go Into the Water’ at Ocean Beach, SF Officials Urge Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend | KQED",
"description": "The San Francisco Fire Department’s warning for all but the strongest swimmers or surfers follows recent instances of people getting swept away by the beach’s notorious rip currents. ",
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"headline": "‘Don’t Go Into the Water’ at Ocean Beach, SF Officials Urge Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Bottom line: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ocean-beach\">Ocean Beach\u003c/a> don’t play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of a sunny Memorial Day weekend, the San Francisco Fire Department is urging anyone headed to the city’s beachfront to, in no uncertain terms, stay the hell out of the water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ocean Beach is its own animal. And we want to just have people aware of it,” said Mariano Elias, a Fire Department spokesperson. “Because people have died. … That is the reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless you’re a very strong swimmer or surfer familiar with the water at this beach and have reviewed the most recent tide charts, the general recommendation is “don’t go into the water,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://files.constantcontact.com/5e99cb80601/6958c4fd-a1c9-47bc-a470-d6c6ca6f880e.pdf\">The warning\u003c/a>, issued in partnership with local offices of the National Park Service and National Weather Service, which help manage and monitor the shoreline, follows a series of recent instances of people getting swept away by the beach’s notoriously strong rip currents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12033006\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12033006\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/250325-APARTMENTSONWESTSIDE-10-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the Sunset District and Ocean Beach in San Francisco on March 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In one fatal incident this month, a man who tried to retrieve his dog from the water at Ocean Beach near Lawton Street got caught in the current and lost consciousness. Two bystanders pulled him out of the water, attempted CPR and called 911. Fire Department rescuers were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead, Elias said, noting that the dog made it out of the water on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department has not yet released information on the man’s identity, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two days later, on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, members of the department’s surf rescue team responded to another incident, near Fort Funston, where a young man from Modesto went swimming and got similarly pulled out by the current, Elias said. The man’s younger brother jumped in to try to help him but got caught as well, and he ended up fighting the current for about 20 minutes before making it back to shore, completely fatigued, with his unconscious brother in tow, onlookers reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-12041149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/Rip_Currents_Sign4-20top-Copy-e1747867324142.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"236\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has happened before, I’ve seen it in my career, where a family comes to the beach to enjoy the water and the warm weather,” said Elias, whose department fields an average of about 45 Ocean Beach-related rescue calls each year. “It’s warm, so they want to get in the water and swim.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fire rescue crew was able to revive both brothers after transporting them to the parking lot on the cliff above the beach and performing life-saving measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elias, who was part of that day’s rescue operation, noted that when members of a surf rescue crew respond to an incident like this, it takes their entire fire station offline for the duration of the rescue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It does take quite a few individuals to do an operation like this,” he said. “Someone in the water would take out that whole station out of play for another 911 call.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is a rip current?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A rip current, sometimes referred to (incorrectly) as a rip tide, is defined as a localized current that flows toward the ocean “perpendicular or at an acute angle to the shoreline,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/03coastal3.html#:~:text=When%20waves%20travel%20from%20deep,the%20force%20of%20the%20current.\">the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u003c/a>. It commonly forms close to shore around low spots or breaks in sandbars, as well as near structures like jetties and piers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A rip current can look like a strip of darker water forming a gap in the waves breaking around it, and it is much easier to spot from higher ground, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-science\">National Weather Service\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/RJ4hcaJ91TY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/RJ4hcaJ91TY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“A person caught in a rip can be swept away from shore very quickly,” according to NOAA’s site, which notes that the currents don’t actually pull you under and emphasizes the importance of not panicking if caught in one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best way to escape a rip current is by swimming parallel to the shore instead of toward it, since most rip currents are less than 80 feet wide. A swimmer can also let the current carry them out to sea until the force weakens, because rip currents stay close to shore and usually dissipate just beyond the line of breaking waves, NOAA’s site said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 3.5-mile expanse of Ocean Beach lining San Francisco’s western perimeter is widely considered \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Why-S-F-s-Ocean-Beach-is-Deadly-Several-3002654.php\">among the most dangerous stretches of urban shoreline\u003c/a> in the country, the force of its rips fueled by billions of gallons of water that slosh in and out of the Golden Gate during each tidal shift, creating unusual lateral currents. Additionally, the beach faces prevailing westerly swells and winds, and its coarse-grained sand creates a steep gradient, all of which helps strengthen the force of rips.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Although warning signs are posted at the entrances to the beach, there are no lifeguards, and the water can often appear deceptively calm, veiling the forces beneath its surface. Even shallow areas can be dangerous, with instances of people being swept out in just 3 feet of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ocean Beach is NOT a swimming beach, and the public should NOT enter the water,” the fire department’s joint press release states. The ocean, it said, is “insidiously dangerous in the summer months, luring people in during times of heat and seemingly benign conditions only to be swept into cold, turbulent waters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This statement encourages people who want to swim to go to nearby Stinson Beach, across the bridge in Marin, where Golden Gate National Recreation Area staffs on-duty lifeguards seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement goes on to note that the Pacific coastline attracts visitors from around the world for “its rugged beauty,” imploring visitors to “live to share your wonderful stories and photos.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Tips to stay safe in a rip current\u003c/h2>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Stay calm — rip currents don’t pull you under.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If caught in a rip current, do not fight it.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Swim parallel to shore, and then once out of the current, back towards shore.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you can’t escape, float or tread water to conserve energy until you are rescued.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you need help, wave your hands high in the air and call for help.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Keep pets on a leash and do not swim after them if they get swept into the sea. Most dogs will get out of the water on their own (and cats won’t get near it).\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "historic-deal-end-point-reyes-ranching-threatened-republicans-probe",
"title": "Republicans’ Probe Could Threaten Historic Deal to End Point Reyes Ranching",
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"headTitle": "Republicans’ Probe Could Threaten Historic Deal to End Point Reyes Ranching | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Congress has launched an investigation into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021426/point-reyes-ranching-will-all-but-end-under-new-deal-capping-decades-long-conflict\">controversial settlement deal\u003c/a> that is set to end most dairy and cattle ranching along the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/point-reyes\">Point Reyes National Seashore\u003c/a>, according to a letter this week from Republican members, including many on the House Committee on Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Jared Huffman, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said the move could “blow up” the historic land deal, which had seemed poised to end years of environmental strife over the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement was announced in January, when the National Park Service said that a dozen ranchers had agreed to cede their leases in exchange for a buyout from the Nature Conservancy. The park service also said it would revise its general management plan to rezone about 16,000 acres of the seashore to disallow most agricultural operations and add \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936802/cattle-ranching-is-at-the-center-of-a-battle-brewing-in-point-reyes\">protections for the tule elk\u003c/a> population there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the letter sent Thursday to the Nature Conservancy and other environmental organizations who were party to the deal, Congress members are concerned about the “lack of transparency” and potential “environmental and legal consequences” of the deal, as well as the environmental nonprofit’s part in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terms of the deal have been kept mostly private, and ranchers had to sign non-disclosure agreements related to the settlement and their compensation, according to the letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress members are now alleging that the NDAs have “muzzled” lessies who agreed to the deal and that many aren’t happy with its terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11936879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11936879\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/01/DSC5237-scaled-e1672877098790.jpg\" alt=\"Four male elk walk down a grassy hillside\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Once abundant in Point Reyes, Tule elk were nearly hunted to extinction. In the 1970s, the Parks Service designated the northern tip of Point Reyes as an elk preserve. \u003ccite>(Amanda Font/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The committee understands that not only are some parties uncomfortable with the settlement agreement, but also that [Nature Conservancy] donors and environmental advocates have expressed displeasure with the settlement,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Nature Conservancy said in a statement that it “was not part of the Point Reyes litigation, but was asked by all of the litigating parties, including the ranchers, to join their mediation as an honest broker and help find a compromise to end the long-standing conflict.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As an organization, we have a long history of partnering with ranchers, farmers and communities who work closest to the land to help conserve the lands and waters that sustain us all,” the statement reads. “We have long considered farmers and ranchers some of our greatest conservation allies.”[aside postID=news_12029675 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/NimanRanchGetty-1020x680.jpg']The settlement came after three environmental groups — Resource Renewal Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project — sued the park service in 2022, faulting it for part of the ecological damage done by ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deal spurred anger and anxiety within the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">West Marin\u003c/a> community, where ranching had been an economic backbone for generations. One rancher who agreed to the buyout told KQED at the time that even though he ultimately took the settlement, he and other ranchers “felt so much in a corner that [they] didn’t know what else to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicolette Hahn Niman and her husband, William, who own Niman Ranch, refused the deal and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029675/niman-ranch-challenges-point-reyes-seashore-settlement-in-lawsuit-over-ranching\">filed a lawsuit\u003c/a> against the park service in March, saying that the move to bar ranching would cause environmental damage and failed to account for Congress’ goal to preserve the “ranching and agricultural heritage” of the seashore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A second lawsuit filed against the park service, Nature Conservancy and Department of Interior alleges that they conspired to pay off the ranchers. West Marin attorney Andrew Giacomini filed the suit on behalf of local workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002972/west-marin-worker-housing-often-substandard-and-faulty-new-report-finds\">who live in housing on the ranches\u003c/a> — one of few affordable options in the area — and are now poised to be evicted in the coming year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The members of Congress are requesting wide-ranging communication records between the Nature Conservancy, the environmental groups that brought the 2022 suit, the National Park Service, and the ranchers who are party to the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman speaks during a press conference in Santa Rosa on April 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also seem to be reviewing the Nature Conservancy’s new role helping manage the seashore under the park service’s revision to the General Management Plan this year, which they believe could be a conflict of interest because of the nonprofit’s part in the land deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huffman, whose district includes West Marin, said he didn’t have any advance knowledge that the probe was being launched and that the representatives investigating never asked for information regarding the settlement before now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing to hide here,” he said. “I would have gladly brought them to Point Reyes, had them sit down and talk to the ranchers. There’s nothing controversial or scandalous in any of this, it’s just a painful and difficult business decision that these ranching families have made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that the probe has the possibility to reverse the historic deal unless the ranchers who agreed to it back it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ranching families who “have largely been silent for the last few months … [are] going to need to explain that they want this deal and that people should knock it off and stop politicizing it,” Huffman said. “If they do that, then we can probably still move forward, but if they’ve changed their minds, then we’re probably in a new place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Congress has launched an investigation into the controversial settlement deal that is set to end most dairy and cattle ranching along the Point Reyes National Seashore.",
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"title": "Republicans’ Probe Could Threaten Historic Deal to End Point Reyes Ranching | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Congress has launched an investigation into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021426/point-reyes-ranching-will-all-but-end-under-new-deal-capping-decades-long-conflict\">controversial settlement deal\u003c/a> that is set to end most dairy and cattle ranching along the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/point-reyes\">Point Reyes National Seashore\u003c/a>, according to a letter this week from Republican members, including many on the House Committee on Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Jared Huffman, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said the move could “blow up” the historic land deal, which had seemed poised to end years of environmental strife over the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement was announced in January, when the National Park Service said that a dozen ranchers had agreed to cede their leases in exchange for a buyout from the Nature Conservancy. The park service also said it would revise its general management plan to rezone about 16,000 acres of the seashore to disallow most agricultural operations and add \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936802/cattle-ranching-is-at-the-center-of-a-battle-brewing-in-point-reyes\">protections for the tule elk\u003c/a> population there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the letter sent Thursday to the Nature Conservancy and other environmental organizations who were party to the deal, Congress members are concerned about the “lack of transparency” and potential “environmental and legal consequences” of the deal, as well as the environmental nonprofit’s part in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terms of the deal have been kept mostly private, and ranchers had to sign non-disclosure agreements related to the settlement and their compensation, according to the letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress members are now alleging that the NDAs have “muzzled” lessies who agreed to the deal and that many aren’t happy with its terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11936879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11936879\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/01/DSC5237-scaled-e1672877098790.jpg\" alt=\"Four male elk walk down a grassy hillside\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Once abundant in Point Reyes, Tule elk were nearly hunted to extinction. In the 1970s, the Parks Service designated the northern tip of Point Reyes as an elk preserve. \u003ccite>(Amanda Font/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The committee understands that not only are some parties uncomfortable with the settlement agreement, but also that [Nature Conservancy] donors and environmental advocates have expressed displeasure with the settlement,” the letter reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Nature Conservancy said in a statement that it “was not part of the Point Reyes litigation, but was asked by all of the litigating parties, including the ranchers, to join their mediation as an honest broker and help find a compromise to end the long-standing conflict.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As an organization, we have a long history of partnering with ranchers, farmers and communities who work closest to the land to help conserve the lands and waters that sustain us all,” the statement reads. “We have long considered farmers and ranchers some of our greatest conservation allies.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The settlement came after three environmental groups — Resource Renewal Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project — sued the park service in 2022, faulting it for part of the ecological damage done by ranchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deal spurred anger and anxiety within the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">West Marin\u003c/a> community, where ranching had been an economic backbone for generations. One rancher who agreed to the buyout told KQED at the time that even though he ultimately took the settlement, he and other ranchers “felt so much in a corner that [they] didn’t know what else to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicolette Hahn Niman and her husband, William, who own Niman Ranch, refused the deal and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029675/niman-ranch-challenges-point-reyes-seashore-settlement-in-lawsuit-over-ranching\">filed a lawsuit\u003c/a> against the park service in March, saying that the move to bar ranching would cause environmental damage and failed to account for Congress’ goal to preserve the “ranching and agricultural heritage” of the seashore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A second lawsuit filed against the park service, Nature Conservancy and Department of Interior alleges that they conspired to pay off the ranchers. West Marin attorney Andrew Giacomini filed the suit on behalf of local workers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002972/west-marin-worker-housing-often-substandard-and-faulty-new-report-finds\">who live in housing on the ranches\u003c/a> — one of few affordable options in the area — and are now poised to be evicted in the coming year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The members of Congress are requesting wide-ranging communication records between the Nature Conservancy, the environmental groups that brought the 2022 suit, the National Park Service, and the ranchers who are party to the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035708\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240426_DeptofLaborAnnouncement-11_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman speaks during a press conference in Santa Rosa on April 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also seem to be reviewing the Nature Conservancy’s new role helping manage the seashore under the park service’s revision to the General Management Plan this year, which they believe could be a conflict of interest because of the nonprofit’s part in the land deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huffman, whose district includes West Marin, said he didn’t have any advance knowledge that the probe was being launched and that the representatives investigating never asked for information regarding the settlement before now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s nothing to hide here,” he said. “I would have gladly brought them to Point Reyes, had them sit down and talk to the ranchers. There’s nothing controversial or scandalous in any of this, it’s just a painful and difficult business decision that these ranching families have made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said that the probe has the possibility to reverse the historic deal unless the ranchers who agreed to it back it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ranching families who “have largely been silent for the last few months … [are] going to need to explain that they want this deal and that people should knock it off and stop politicizing it,” Huffman said. “If they do that, then we can probably still move forward, but if they’ve changed their minds, then we’re probably in a new place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "4-whales-have-died-in-the-bay-area-in-less-than-2-weeks",
"title": "4 Whales Have Died in the Bay Area in Less Than 2 Weeks. What's Going on?",
"publishDate": 1744290030,
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"headTitle": "4 Whales Have Died in the Bay Area in Less Than 2 Weeks. What’s Going on? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A rarely spotted juvenile minke whale that stranded itself on a mudflat in the San Francisco Bay near Emeryville was euthanized on Tuesday, marking the fourth whale death in the area in less than two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teams have made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize this animal to relieve its suffering,” said Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. He noted that the whale had beached itself on several different occasions in recent days and was found almost completely out of the water, suffering from severe sunburns and struggling to breathe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can relieve an animal of its suffering, from an animal welfare point of view, we take that with incredible sincerity,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 20-foot-long whale — only the fifth documented minke whale sighting in the bay since 2009 — was seen stranded on Monday afternoon. The incoming tide helped it move to deeper waters on Tuesday morning, but it got stuck in the mud again, within 20 feet from shore, later in the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County firefighters laid down wooden planks in the mud to reach the animal but were unable to rescue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rulli said the center planned to conduct a necropsy — or animal autopsy — to try to determine why the animal was “showcasing these symptoms and behavioral patterns that are just very abnormal for a live, fully healthy functioning whale.” Results will take several weeks, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035247\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035247\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scientists prepare to humanely euthanize a stranded juvenile minke whale in Emeryville after efforts to save it proved unsuccessful. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sean Hathorn)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s been a rough couple of weeks for whales in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three dead gray whales were discovered in different locations in and around the bay last week, including an emaciated “subadult” female seen near Alcatraz on April 1 and another floating east of Angel Island State Park the following day. A third was spotted on Friday, off San Francisco’s Fort Point Rock Beach, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear what killed the gray whales, Rulli said, noting that two were found in relatively good shape. The third, however, had six fractured vertebrae, suggesting it had been struck by a vessel, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have four dead whales in a week and a half is very high,” Rulli said, noting that the center hasn’t responded to a high-mortality event like this since April 2021, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2021/04/11/whales-sf-bay-beaches/\">four gray whales were found dead\u003c/a> in the Bay Area in the span of eight days. “It’s extremely difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautioned against drawing correlations between the gray whale and minke whale fatalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12002077 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/WhaleSightings2-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are two very different species,” he said. “The going theory is that … the factors involved are suspected to be quite different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whereas sightings of minke whales are exceedingly rare in the Bay Area, gray whales have, in recent years, become an increasingly common presence between late February and May, using the calm waters of the bay as a resting stop during their vast annual northern migration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some ferry services and commercial vessels have even adjusted their routes to avoid hitting the whales, Rulli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another minke whale was \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-06/minke-whale-trapped-long-beach-harbor-dies-officials-say\">found dead on Sunday\u003c/a> in Long Beach Harbor in Southern California, where an algal bloom is producing a surge in domoic acid. The naturally occurring marine neurotoxin, which can induce lethargy and erratic behavior, recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-24/domoic-acid-sea-lions-dolphins-stranded-southern-california-coast\">poisoned more than 100 sea lions and dozens of dolphins\u003c/a> in that region and may have played a role in the whale’s demise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rulli said that while the minke whale his organization euthanized on Tuesday would be tested for the neurotoxin, there’s so far been little presence of it in the waters off the coast of Central and Northern California.\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>KQED’s Katherine Monahan contributed reporting.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A rarely spotted juvenile minke whale that stranded itself near Emeryville was euthanized on Tuesday, days after three gray whales were found dead in the area. Experts say it’s unlikely the two species’ deaths were related. ",
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"title": "4 Whales Have Died in the Bay Area in Less Than 2 Weeks. What's Going on? | KQED",
"description": "A rarely spotted juvenile minke whale that stranded itself near Emeryville was euthanized on Tuesday, days after three gray whales were found dead in the area. Experts say it’s unlikely the two species’ deaths were related. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A rarely spotted juvenile minke whale that stranded itself on a mudflat in the San Francisco Bay near Emeryville was euthanized on Tuesday, marking the fourth whale death in the area in less than two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teams have made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize this animal to relieve its suffering,” said Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. He noted that the whale had beached itself on several different occasions in recent days and was found almost completely out of the water, suffering from severe sunburns and struggling to breathe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we can relieve an animal of its suffering, from an animal welfare point of view, we take that with incredible sincerity,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 20-foot-long whale — only the fifth documented minke whale sighting in the bay since 2009 — was seen stranded on Monday afternoon. The incoming tide helped it move to deeper waters on Tuesday morning, but it got stuck in the mud again, within 20 feet from shore, later in the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County firefighters laid down wooden planks in the mud to reach the animal but were unable to rescue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rulli said the center planned to conduct a necropsy — or animal autopsy — to try to determine why the animal was “showcasing these symptoms and behavioral patterns that are just very abnormal for a live, fully healthy functioning whale.” Results will take several weeks, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12035247\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12035247\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/WhaleDeath-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scientists prepare to humanely euthanize a stranded juvenile minke whale in Emeryville after efforts to save it proved unsuccessful. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sean Hathorn)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s been a rough couple of weeks for whales in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three dead gray whales were discovered in different locations in and around the bay last week, including an emaciated “subadult” female seen near Alcatraz on April 1 and another floating east of Angel Island State Park the following day. A third was spotted on Friday, off San Francisco’s Fort Point Rock Beach, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear what killed the gray whales, Rulli said, noting that two were found in relatively good shape. The third, however, had six fractured vertebrae, suggesting it had been struck by a vessel, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To have four dead whales in a week and a half is very high,” Rulli said, noting that the center hasn’t responded to a high-mortality event like this since April 2021, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2021/04/11/whales-sf-bay-beaches/\">four gray whales were found dead\u003c/a> in the Bay Area in the span of eight days. “It’s extremely difficult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he cautioned against drawing correlations between the gray whale and minke whale fatalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are two very different species,” he said. “The going theory is that … the factors involved are suspected to be quite different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whereas sightings of minke whales are exceedingly rare in the Bay Area, gray whales have, in recent years, become an increasingly common presence between late February and May, using the calm waters of the bay as a resting stop during their vast annual northern migration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some ferry services and commercial vessels have even adjusted their routes to avoid hitting the whales, Rulli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another minke whale was \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-06/minke-whale-trapped-long-beach-harbor-dies-officials-say\">found dead on Sunday\u003c/a> in Long Beach Harbor in Southern California, where an algal bloom is producing a surge in domoic acid. The naturally occurring marine neurotoxin, which can induce lethargy and erratic behavior, recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-24/domoic-acid-sea-lions-dolphins-stranded-southern-california-coast\">poisoned more than 100 sea lions and dozens of dolphins\u003c/a> in that region and may have played a role in the whale’s demise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rulli said that while the minke whale his organization euthanized on Tuesday would be tested for the neurotoxin, there’s so far been little presence of it in the waters off the coast of Central and Northern California.\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>KQED’s Katherine Monahan contributed reporting.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "SF’s New Park on the Closed Great Highway Is Now Called Sunset Dunes",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:51 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s newest park along the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/great-highway\">Upper Great Highway\u003c/a> will be called Sunset Dunes after city officials chose from a list of five finalists Wednesday afternoon — just days before the park officially opens on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other names up for consideration by the Recreation and Parks Commission were Fog Line, Great Parkway, Playland Parkway and Plover Parkway. Other options floated by commissioners at the meeting included Reopen the Great Highway Park and Playland Park instead of Playland Parkway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the eight members of the public who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting, both Sunset Dunes and Plover Parkway were popular options. But commissioners ultimately landed on Sunset Dunes at the nomination of president Kat Anderson, who said the name contained two of the three main themes identified by city staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[That name] does a great job of honoring the neighborhood and hitting the two primary benefits of the area: the fact that you can enjoy the dunes and the sunset,” said public commenter Ben Davis, who leads the arts nonprofit Illuminate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to land at those five choices to recommend to the commission, city staffers narrowed the field from over 4,000 submissions over the course of several stages since the beginning of March, outlined in a \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/25804/Item-2-Great-Highway-Naming-Proposal---Staff-Report-040925\">staff report filed Wednesday\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032870\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houses line the Great Highway near Ocean Beach in San Francisco’s Sunset District neighborhood on Feb. 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many residents used the submission process to air their grievances against District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, whose support for Proposition K to permanently close the section of the Great Highway to vehicles put him at odds with many people in his district. Among them were names like “Engardio’s Folly” and “Traitor Joel’s,” \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/04/sf-great-highway-ocean-beach-park/\">\u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em> reported\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over 3,000 submissions remained even after weeding out unsavory ones that took aim at Engardio or those that could cause confusion with existing parks like Land’s End or Ocean Beach. Staffers identified top themes such as dunes, sunset and esplanade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The top 15 contenders were then selected for a trial by survey. Thousands of residents voted on their favorites from the shortlist and graded them on a rubric based on historical significance, natural and geographical importance, community relevance, placemaking impact, and appropriateness and clarity.[aside postID=news_12032868 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-33-BL_qed-1-1020x680.jpg']“As the space enters its next chapter, it’s great that San Franciscans got to have a say in the park’s name,” said Heidi Moseson, vice president of the nonprofit Friends of Ocean Beach Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all residents are as excited about the park’s grand opening. Although voters passed Proposition K by a narrow margin in November, a majority of westside residents voted in opposition, with many opponents calling the road a necessary throughway for neighborhoods like the Sunset District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner Larry Mazzola, a lifelong resident of the city’s westside, said Proposition K should never have gone to a citywide vote. During the meeting, he jokingly suggested the name Reopen the Great Highway Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I go into this vote today not feeling excited or proud. Instead, I feel pressured to name something I never wanted in the first place,” he said. “And a supermajority of the westside feels the same way I do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the section of the highway \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">closed\u003c/a> on March 14, the park has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032868/sf-park-repeatedly-vandalized-after-great-highway-closed-cars\">vandalized multiple times\u003c/a> with graffiti — and, like the name suggestions, many of the tags called out Engardio specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anger toward the supervisor by his own constituents boiled over into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017070/sf-supervisor-faces-a-recall-campaign-over-great-highway-closure\">a recall campaign\u003c/a> launched against him shortly after the November election. Others also unsuccessfully \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030751/days-before-san-franciscos-great-highway-closure-opponents-aim-block-it\">filed a lawsuit\u003c/a> to block the highway closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite legal and cultural backlash to the project, the park is expected to have a grand opening Saturday under its new name. City staff compared the undertaking to the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway more than 30 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In 10, 20 years, everybody will be like, ‘I’m glad that that commission did that, I’m glad that that vote did that, I’m glad that that happened,’” said Commissioner Sonya Clark-Herrera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San Francisco’s parks commission on Wednesday afternoon chose from a list of five finalists to name the park on a now-closed section of the Upper Great Highway.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:51 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s newest park along the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/great-highway\">Upper Great Highway\u003c/a> will be called Sunset Dunes after city officials chose from a list of five finalists Wednesday afternoon — just days before the park officially opens on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other names up for consideration by the Recreation and Parks Commission were Fog Line, Great Parkway, Playland Parkway and Plover Parkway. Other options floated by commissioners at the meeting included Reopen the Great Highway Park and Playland Park instead of Playland Parkway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the eight members of the public who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting, both Sunset Dunes and Plover Parkway were popular options. But commissioners ultimately landed on Sunset Dunes at the nomination of president Kat Anderson, who said the name contained two of the three main themes identified by city staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[That name] does a great job of honoring the neighborhood and hitting the two primary benefits of the area: the fact that you can enjoy the dunes and the sunset,” said public commenter Ben Davis, who leads the arts nonprofit Illuminate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to land at those five choices to recommend to the commission, city staffers narrowed the field from over 4,000 submissions over the course of several stages since the beginning of March, outlined in a \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/25804/Item-2-Great-Highway-Naming-Proposal---Staff-Report-040925\">staff report filed Wednesday\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12032870\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12032870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240214-CoastalCommission-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houses line the Great Highway near Ocean Beach in San Francisco’s Sunset District neighborhood on Feb. 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many residents used the submission process to air their grievances against District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, whose support for Proposition K to permanently close the section of the Great Highway to vehicles put him at odds with many people in his district. Among them were names like “Engardio’s Folly” and “Traitor Joel’s,” \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/04/sf-great-highway-ocean-beach-park/\">\u003cem>Mission Local\u003c/em> reported\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over 3,000 submissions remained even after weeding out unsavory ones that took aim at Engardio or those that could cause confusion with existing parks like Land’s End or Ocean Beach. Staffers identified top themes such as dunes, sunset and esplanade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The top 15 contenders were then selected for a trial by survey. Thousands of residents voted on their favorites from the shortlist and graded them on a rubric based on historical significance, natural and geographical importance, community relevance, placemaking impact, and appropriateness and clarity.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“As the space enters its next chapter, it’s great that San Franciscans got to have a say in the park’s name,” said Heidi Moseson, vice president of the nonprofit Friends of Ocean Beach Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all residents are as excited about the park’s grand opening. Although voters passed Proposition K by a narrow margin in November, a majority of westside residents voted in opposition, with many opponents calling the road a necessary throughway for neighborhoods like the Sunset District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner Larry Mazzola, a lifelong resident of the city’s westside, said Proposition K should never have gone to a citywide vote. During the meeting, he jokingly suggested the name Reopen the Great Highway Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I go into this vote today not feeling excited or proud. Instead, I feel pressured to name something I never wanted in the first place,” he said. “And a supermajority of the westside feels the same way I do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the section of the highway \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">closed\u003c/a> on March 14, the park has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032868/sf-park-repeatedly-vandalized-after-great-highway-closed-cars\">vandalized multiple times\u003c/a> with graffiti — and, like the name suggestions, many of the tags called out Engardio specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anger toward the supervisor by his own constituents boiled over into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017070/sf-supervisor-faces-a-recall-campaign-over-great-highway-closure\">a recall campaign\u003c/a> launched against him shortly after the November election. Others also unsuccessfully \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030751/days-before-san-franciscos-great-highway-closure-opponents-aim-block-it\">filed a lawsuit\u003c/a> to block the highway closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite legal and cultural backlash to the project, the park is expected to have a grand opening Saturday under its new name. City staff compared the undertaking to the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway more than 30 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In 10, 20 years, everybody will be like, ‘I’m glad that that commission did that, I’m glad that that vote did that, I’m glad that that happened,’” said Commissioner Sonya Clark-Herrera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Many in California’s science community are reeling after last week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909033/trump-purge-hits-bay-area-federal-workers\">mass firings\u003c/a> within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration upended workers’ lives and raised dire concerns for the climate agency’s work going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least seven people, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">National Weather Service employees\u003c/a> and staff at the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NOAA Fisheries, lost their jobs along the Central Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their stories are similar and heart-wrenching. The early-career federal workers are planning marriages, recently signed mortgages and were saving to buy their first homes. But last Thursday, they got an email saying they were “not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs” — many of them before their supervisors even knew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a 5 p.m. Eastern deadline before they were locked out of their emails and accounts, they scrambled, downloading health information, salary details, performance reports and hard copies of their termination letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three employees were fired from NOAA Fisheries’ Monterey office, including a communications specialist and two scientists, according to the researchers. Another fisheries communication expert lost his job in Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heartbroken,” said Heather Welch, a research biologist at NOAA Fisheries employed to work on the NOAA Climate, Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative. “That was definitely the job I hoped to retire in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welch and her boyfriend bought a house a few months after she started her job in April. Now, she must figure out her next steps and hopes a remote job will fill the financial void.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029803\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1632px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029803\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1632\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5.jpg 1632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1632px) 100vw, 1632px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NOAA’s R/V Fulmar on Oct. 15, 2015. California’s science community is reeling after last week’s mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which upended lives and cast a shadow over the agency’s critical climate work. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of a sudden, I’m a lot less mobile,” said Welch, who modeled the migration paths of species like endangered loggerhead turtles and whales with advanced tracking networks. “I can’t move to a different state and take a different job. It’s a tough time to have bought a house, both in terms of mobility and then financially.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED that two others she works with also lost their jobs — communications specialist Matthew Koller and a physical scientist who could not be reached for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like a breakup of a family, and so it was really sad to walk out that door,” Welch said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12029178 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/NOAAGetty-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welch said their work flowed into each other. The physical scientist developed forecasts and ocean models for changing ocean temperatures. Welch applied that data, relating it to animals, and turned it into tools for fisheries managers. Koller summarized the work and presented it to the general public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koller was fired after only four months of service. It took him about a year to land the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was terminated from my position at the exact same time that the training wheels were coming off,” said the 36-year-old, who recently moved to Monterey after graduate school and a fellowship. “It’s very unfortunate to have a career in the federal service cut short after putting in so much time to get this opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the three workers who were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">fired from the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office\u003c/a> last week — a meteorologist, an administrative support assistant and a facilities technician — the other four NOAA staffers who lost their jobs were probationary employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them are worried that the cuts are just the beginning of Trump’s attack on climate science, fearing that the decision could have larger ramifications for the California coastline and endangered species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029854\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12029854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Koller. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Matthew Koller)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Since most of the workers who lost their jobs had them for short periods of time, Koller feels like the Trump administration is trying to stamp out the next generation of climate science leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The future leaders of NOAA were just cut,” he said. “The people that will eventually become senior scientists and project leads and help set the agency’s policy. It’s just very dispiriting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koller also believes the layoffs cut into NOAA’s mission of trying to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coast — as well as communicating its findings to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really hamstrings NOAA’s ability to fulfill that mission,” he said. “We should be investing in those programs and not terminating them because the welfare of all Americans and Californians depend on understanding our environment — and NOAA helps provide that clarity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to losing his job, Koller is getting married and is concerned that his firing might muddle his August nuptial plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ironically, earlier in the week, I had just put down a deposit for our wedding venue,” he said. “We put down the deposit on Wednesday, and I was unfortunately terminated on Thursday. How do we pay for a wedding without a job?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local losses are part of the Trump administration’s latest mass culling of the federal workforce, which has resulted in hundreds of firings within NOAA, one of the world’s preeminent climate research institutions. This effort is overseen by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/65248/former-trump-commissioner-blasts-doge-education-data-cuts\">Department of Government Efficiency\u003c/a>, or DOGE, the newly formed entity led by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat representing communities from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, has criticized the firings as a betrayal of the American people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were looking for a point at which this crazy DOGE exercise really backfired into people’s lives, I think you’ve found it with NOAA,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 40 miles north of Monterey in Santa Cruz, another NOAA Fisheries science communications specialist is now on the hunt for a new job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1125px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029853\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1125\" height=\"842\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting.jpg 1125w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-1020x763.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerimiah Oetting holding a Chinook salmon in August 2024, about a week before starting his job with NOAA. Oetting was fishing with family off the coast of Vancouver Island in B.C., where stock is healthy and sustains fishing. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Jerimiah Oetting)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After stints in public media and federal agencies like the National Park Service, Jerimiah Oetting landed a full-time gig with NOAA in Santa Cruz about six months ago. He wrote about science and fish populations, like salmon and steelhead, for the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, which he said is mandated to increase and keep species of salmon from going extinct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he was the only person cut from his building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in public service, and I think being able to support myself as a public servant and do work that I really care about and love was a dream come true,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oetting is frustrated that the email he received said he doesn’t have the “skills, abilities, and knowledge” for the job “when clearly I possess those things.” He’s also worried about whether he and his wife can remain in Santa Cruz because the area is one of the most expensive rental markets in the country. His wife is a doctoral student and now the unit’s sole breadwinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve saved as much as we can, and that was hopefully eventually going to be a down payment on a house,” he said. “It’s turned into an emergency fund that honestly won’t last us very long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also concerned that his colleagues still at NOAA could be on the chopping block if the Trump administration goes after climate-related programs and makes more cuts to its workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that there’s closure, I’m just focused on the future and righteously angry about what happened,” he said, “but I’m also trying to figure out a way to get involved in any way I can to stop this from happening more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Many in California’s science community are reeling after last week’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909033/trump-purge-hits-bay-area-federal-workers\">mass firings\u003c/a> within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration upended workers’ lives and raised dire concerns for the climate agency’s work going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least seven people, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">National Weather Service employees\u003c/a> and staff at the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NOAA Fisheries, lost their jobs along the Central Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their stories are similar and heart-wrenching. The early-career federal workers are planning marriages, recently signed mortgages and were saving to buy their first homes. But last Thursday, they got an email saying they were “not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs” — many of them before their supervisors even knew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a 5 p.m. Eastern deadline before they were locked out of their emails and accounts, they scrambled, downloading health information, salary details, performance reports and hard copies of their termination letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three employees were fired from NOAA Fisheries’ Monterey office, including a communications specialist and two scientists, according to the researchers. Another fisheries communication expert lost his job in Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heartbroken,” said Heather Welch, a research biologist at NOAA Fisheries employed to work on the NOAA Climate, Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative. “That was definitely the job I hoped to retire in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welch and her boyfriend bought a house a few months after she started her job in April. Now, she must figure out her next steps and hopes a remote job will fill the financial void.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029803\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1632px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029803\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1632\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5.jpg 1632w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/E8590326-10CD-4544-8AC6-588BF362FDD5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1632px) 100vw, 1632px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NOAA’s R/V Fulmar on Oct. 15, 2015. California’s science community is reeling after last week’s mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which upended lives and cast a shadow over the agency’s critical climate work. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of a sudden, I’m a lot less mobile,” said Welch, who modeled the migration paths of species like endangered loggerhead turtles and whales with advanced tracking networks. “I can’t move to a different state and take a different job. It’s a tough time to have bought a house, both in terms of mobility and then financially.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED that two others she works with also lost their jobs — communications specialist Matthew Koller and a physical scientist who could not be reached for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like a breakup of a family, and so it was really sad to walk out that door,” Welch said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Welch said their work flowed into each other. The physical scientist developed forecasts and ocean models for changing ocean temperatures. Welch applied that data, relating it to animals, and turned it into tools for fisheries managers. Koller summarized the work and presented it to the general public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koller was fired after only four months of service. It took him about a year to land the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was terminated from my position at the exact same time that the training wheels were coming off,” said the 36-year-old, who recently moved to Monterey after graduate school and a fellowship. “It’s very unfortunate to have a career in the federal service cut short after putting in so much time to get this opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the three workers who were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12029178/trumps-mass-layoffs-noaa-cut-into-bay-area-weather-service\">fired from the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office\u003c/a> last week — a meteorologist, an administrative support assistant and a facilities technician — the other four NOAA staffers who lost their jobs were probationary employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of them are worried that the cuts are just the beginning of Trump’s attack on climate science, fearing that the decision could have larger ramifications for the California coastline and endangered species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029854\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12029854\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Matthew-Koller-scaled-e1741205337982.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew Koller. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Matthew Koller)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Since most of the workers who lost their jobs had them for short periods of time, Koller feels like the Trump administration is trying to stamp out the next generation of climate science leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The future leaders of NOAA were just cut,” he said. “The people that will eventually become senior scientists and project leads and help set the agency’s policy. It’s just very dispiriting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koller also believes the layoffs cut into NOAA’s mission of trying to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coast — as well as communicating its findings to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really hamstrings NOAA’s ability to fulfill that mission,” he said. “We should be investing in those programs and not terminating them because the welfare of all Americans and Californians depend on understanding our environment — and NOAA helps provide that clarity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to losing his job, Koller is getting married and is concerned that his firing might muddle his August nuptial plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ironically, earlier in the week, I had just put down a deposit for our wedding venue,” he said. “We put down the deposit on Wednesday, and I was unfortunately terminated on Thursday. How do we pay for a wedding without a job?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local losses are part of the Trump administration’s latest mass culling of the federal workforce, which has resulted in hundreds of firings within NOAA, one of the world’s preeminent climate research institutions. This effort is overseen by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/65248/former-trump-commissioner-blasts-doge-education-data-cuts\">Department of Government Efficiency\u003c/a>, or DOGE, the newly formed entity led by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat representing communities from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, has criticized the firings as a betrayal of the American people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were looking for a point at which this crazy DOGE exercise really backfired into people’s lives, I think you’ve found it with NOAA,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 40 miles north of Monterey in Santa Cruz, another NOAA Fisheries science communications specialist is now on the hunt for a new job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1125px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029853\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1125\" height=\"842\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting.jpg 1125w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-1020x763.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/Jerimiah-Oetting-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jerimiah Oetting holding a Chinook salmon in August 2024, about a week before starting his job with NOAA. Oetting was fishing with family off the coast of Vancouver Island in B.C., where stock is healthy and sustains fishing. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Jerimiah Oetting)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After stints in public media and federal agencies like the National Park Service, Jerimiah Oetting landed a full-time gig with NOAA in Santa Cruz about six months ago. He wrote about science and fish populations, like salmon and steelhead, for the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, which he said is mandated to increase and keep species of salmon from going extinct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he was the only person cut from his building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe in public service, and I think being able to support myself as a public servant and do work that I really care about and love was a dream come true,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oetting is frustrated that the email he received said he doesn’t have the “skills, abilities, and knowledge” for the job “when clearly I possess those things.” He’s also worried about whether he and his wife can remain in Santa Cruz because the area is one of the most expensive rental markets in the country. His wife is a doctoral student and now the unit’s sole breadwinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve saved as much as we can, and that was hopefully eventually going to be a down payment on a house,” he said. “It’s turned into an emergency fund that honestly won’t last us very long.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also concerned that his colleagues still at NOAA could be on the chopping block if the Trump administration goes after climate-related programs and makes more cuts to its workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that there’s closure, I’m just focused on the future and righteously angry about what happened,” he said, “but I’m also trying to figure out a way to get involved in any way I can to stop this from happening more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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