Hurricane swells reveal forgotten history beneath iconic California beach
When Hurricane Marie smashed the Southern California coast, aggressive coastal erosion turned one of California's most iconic waves in Newport Beach into an archaeological dig.
Hurricane Marie swell reveals hidden history beneath The Wedge
Hurricane Marie sent massive swells crashing into Newport Beach's legendary surf break, The Wedge, producing the towering waves the spot is famous for. But the hurricane-driven surf also unearthed a piece of California history, exposing long-buried wooden pilings believed to date back to the construction of the jetty that helped create the world-famous wave.
THE TAKEAWAY
- The Wedge’s legendary waves are the unintended result of decades of harbor engineering and jetty construction.
- Hurricane Marie’s powerful swells exposed buried timber, jetty rock and other remnants of Newport Beach’s past.
- Historical research suggests the timber may belong to a temporary construction trestle, while some exposed rocks may be part of a 1930 groin.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Mysterious wooden structures exposed at Newport Beach’s famed Wedge have offered a glimpse into the city’s past, as hurricane swells peeled back the sand to reveal a series of unidentified items from history.
When Hurricane Marie smashed the Southern California coast over Labor Day Weekend, aggressive coastal erosion turned one of California's most iconic waves in Newport Beach into an archaeological dig.
SEE IT: DRAMATIC RESCUE UNFOLDS AS TROPICAL STORM MARIE FUELS DANGEROUS WAVES ALONG CALIFORNIA COAST
Exposed wooden pilings, initially believed to be remnants of an old pier, exposed by Hurricane Marie swells, were sawed down and removed from the shoreline by city officials as a safety precaution. (Miles Vellandi)
At the Wedge, a shore-breaking wave that has drawn surfers, bodysurfers and boogie-boarders for generations, massive waves arrived as Hurricane Marie churned hundreds of miles offshore in an El Niño-supercharged Pacific.
While the barreling waves smashed the Southern California shore, the waves uncovered several pieces of mysterious wood piling that, at one point, were estimated to extend about seven feet in the air.
HOW THE BIGGEST WAVES IN THE WORLD BREAK OFF THE COAST OF PORTUGAL
The storm also exposed sections of buried jetty rock, massive steel cables and other long-buried relics alongside the towering wooden pilings that were removed from the beach by Newport Beach officials.
Witnesses at the beach estimated the exposed wooden pilings stood about 7 feet tall. (Yucca Fins and James Ferrell)
To understand how the Wedge became one of California’s most famous surf breaks, it helps to look back nearly a century.
POWERFUL WAVES BATTER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST, DAMAGING HOMES AND TRIGGERING SINKHOLE
In an aerial view, spectators gather at The Wedge, a famed surf break, during a powerful south swell impacting the Southern California coastline on June 9, 2026 in Newport Beach, California. Wave heights reportedly peaked at 20 feet as hundreds of spectators lined the beach to watch surfers and boogie boarders attempt to ride the Pacific Ocean waves. (Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The break was shaped by a series of harbor projects — not by nature alone. The first west jetty was built in 1917, using railroad cars loaded with rock that traveled along a temporary wooden trestle extending over the ocean. When the work was finished, only the visible portions of the wooden trestle were removed, according to Don Webb, a former Newport Beach mayor and retired public works director, who is also a member of the Newport Beach Historical Society.
Webb believes the timber exposed at the Wedge after Hurricane Marie belonged to that temporary structure.
LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED IN CALIFORNIA BEACH CITY TO STABILIZE COASTAL BLUFFS AHEAD OF SUPER EL NIÑO
Storms damaged the jetty, leading to major repairs in 1920. After continued erosion, the jetty was reconstructed and extended in 1928, followed by additional federal and local harbor improvements carried out in the mid-1930s. The same jetty now forms the western edge of the harbor channel.
A railroad cart loaded with rocks moves along a temporary wooden trestle during construction of Newport Harbor’s west jetty in 1917. (Newport Beach Historical Society / Don Webb / FOX Weather)
When incoming swells slam into the rocks, their energy ricochets back toward the next wave in a colossal, chaotic collision, with Hurricane Marie serving as a perfect example for the ensuing wave that forms.
That force compounds in extremely shallow water and creates the towering, explosive shore break waves that have made the Wedge legendary.
WHAT IS COASTAL EROSION AND WHY IS IT DANGEROUS?
"To the best of my knowledge, based on many years of reviewing plans and reports on the area, there has never been a pier in that vicinity," Webb said.
Newport Beach Historical Society member and former Mayor Don Webb believes this wooden piling resurfaced at The Wedge during hurricane-fueled swells. The 1917 photograph shows a temporary wooden trestle built to carry railroad cars loaded with rock for construction of the west jetty. (Newport Beach Historical Society / Don Webb)
According to Webb, storms heavily damaged much of the west jetty, requiring major repairs in 1920. Significant erosion continued along the jetty’s western side over the next eight years.
By 1928, the jetty had been reconstructed and extended, with additional shore-protection measures added. Coastal erosion continued, prompting the construction of two groins at the jetty’s base in 1930.
Webb believes portions of one of the two groins added in 1930 may be resurfacing as well.
NOVICE CLIMBERS RESCUED AFTER AI-PLANNED CALIFORNIA HIKE GOES SIDEWAYS
The chaotic collision of incoming swells and reflected energy has made the Wedge one of the world’s legendary surf breaks for generations. Hurricane Marie’s powerful swells have peeled back the sand, exposing remnants of the engineering projects that led to the creation of the iconic wave.
Newport Beach, CA - June 9: A body boarder goes airborne off a large wave at The Wedge in Newport Beach as a south-southwest swell brings high surf on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The discoveries raise the question: What other items from history have yet to be exposed from beneath the sands of Newport Beach’s famed Wedge?