A series of powerful hurricane-driven swells have surfaced forgotten remnants of Newport Beach’s infrastructure that lay buried beneath sand and water for many decades.

Videos and photos circulating on social media show piles of rocks, chunks of concrete and rusted metal rods after waves removed layers of sand along the shoreline.

Much of the erosion has occurred near the west jetty where the popular surfing spot the Wedge is located.

“We’re aware of the sand erosion and the different relics getting exposed down there,” said Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda.

Decades ago, he said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a pair of jetties to stop beach erosion and protect oceanfront homes near the entrance of Newport Harbor.

“A lot of sand has been carved away, uncovering things that haven’t seen the light of day in decades,” Yacenda said. “There are PVC pipes, wires and a railway tie underneath the water and occasionally some metal.”

The storm swells come amid a growing El Niño, a climate pattern characterized by warming ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, as well as increased rainfall. The 2015-16 El Niño pattern was blamed for record beach erosion along California’s coast.

At least three hurricanes have developed in the central and eastern Pacific since July, including Hurricanes Fausto and Genevieve, which generated life-threatening waves, strong rip currents and high surf warnings for Southern California.

A youngster on the beach is sprayed with sandy water June 9, 2026, amid high surf at the Wedge.

(Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

Earlier this month, Los Angeles County’s Department of Beaches and Harbors announced the temporary closure of Point Dume State Beach after high tides and surf caused extreme erosion, damaging bathrooms and leaving the bluff edge unstable, with drop-offs of up to 8 feet in some areas.

In Carlsbad, strong surf and high tides stripped away much of the sand and damaged a parking lot at Tamarack State Beach, which had received about 400,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from a nearby lagoon in early 2025, according to SFGate, which was first to report the issues in Newport Beach.

State park officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The erosion in Newport Beach comes after a busy summer for lifeguards, who in June had to take roughly 12,000 preventive actions, including moving people out of hazardous situations and carrying out more than 500 rescues.

The erosion of the beach now has sparked curiosity about what may be buried under the sand and safety concerns for local surfers at the Wedge, where roughly 30-foot waves crash violently near the shore during strong storm swells.

Some residents believe the exposed material is part of an old groin that was built long before it expanded into a jetty.

Jetties are long barriers often constructed of boulders or concrete at inlets or harbors to keep navigation channels open, while groins are shorter and often are built on open beaches to stop erosion and widen the sand area.

In an email response to The Times, Newport Beach spokesperson Georgia Rios said much of the material buried in the sand dates to major dredging and construction projects from the 1920s to the 1940s, including construction of the west jetty and harbor entrance.

“These projects helped shape Newport Beach’s harbor and surrounding beaches, and some remnants of that early infrastructure are now being exposed,” she wrote.

The Times’ archive traces the history of the harbor improvements to 1916, when the coastal town approved a $125,000 bond measure to construct a 200-foot jetty at the entrance of the bay.

Another story the following year announced the beginning of the construction.

“On this day, the first rock will be placed in the jetty at the harbor mouth and the vision of the past will start to become a reality,” the story read in part.

The placing of the first rock was a festive event that included a “free fish barbecue,” speeches by some of the best orators in Orange County, yacht racing and music by the Huntington Beach Band, according The Times.

The next project occurred in 1927, when Newport Beach approved a $500,000 bond to make repairs and extend the west jetty, as well as the construction of the east jetty. Building costs later climbed to more than $1 million.

The Times noted then that about 140,000 tons of rocks were used to repair and extend the west jetty, but engineers cautioned that more repairs would be needed at a later point.

That appears to have come in the 1930s, when the U.S. Corps of Engineers stepped in to rebuild the jetties and expand the channel after earlier designs proved insufficient. The project also created conditions that produced the Wedge.

By then, local newspapers had documented a number of accidents near the mouth of the channel that killed at least 15 people.

The deadliest was in June 1924 when six men and two boys drowned near the entrance to the Newport Harbor after a giant waved swept over a fishing boat named Adieu.

Two years later, George Rogers Sr. began pushing for improvements to the harbor entrance after his son, George Rogers Jr, drowned in a boating accident in the same area, which led the city to secure federal improvements.

As hurricane season continues, Newport Beach officials say they plan to monitor conditions and address materials and potential hazards at the beach.

“Looking ahead, the city’s long-range approach is focused on sand replenishment to help maintain the beach, support coastal resilience and address the effects of ongoing erosion over time,” Rios said.