Storm leaves Orange County beaches with erosion, debris

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The last storm moved through Orange County with a vengeance. The rain came down hard - and so did a large section concrete wall, which was part of the Orange County Flood Control District canal.

"We got reports of hearing a loud thunderous sound off Laguna Canyon Road. When we got down here we realized that there is definitely some damage to the control wall," said Sgt. Jim Cota with Laguna Beach police.

Storm runoff channels were pushed to their limits, and roads were flooded in spots.

A school as well as several residents were evacuated in the 20400 block of Laguna Canyon Road because of flash flood concerns.

And then there was the beach. All that storm runoff blasted out into the waters of Laguna's main beach, taking huge amounts of sand with it.

"I would go about four or five steps down from the boardwalk, and that's where the sand would start from there. But you can see to the very top of the boards, all of that was sand all the way across," described Gina Trofa, a Laguna Beach resident.

But erosion isn't the only concern. Further south at Doheny Beach in Dana Point, the sands there are packed with debris for hundreds of yards.

"You could see all the driftwood that was coming down the creek, logs and everything flowing in and this was all covered from this embankment down to the down to the water," said Tim Koepnick with the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association.

Some folks were determined to do their part and picked up trash with garbage bags in hand.