King Tide Throws Rocks Over Sea Wall, Radically Alters Butterfly Beach

I agree rebuilding in areas which are prone to high damage creates great ongoing expense. Instead we should take that money and rebuild our wetlands, rivers, streams.
It is never wise to interfere with the natural flow of water building homes in the area because water will always win.

Wetlands

Coastal residents can reduce the damage done by a storm surge by protecting local wetlands. Wetlands, such as swamps, estuaries, and mud flats, act as sponges for tropical cyclones. As the cyclone makes landfall, the marshy land and plants absorb the water and the energy of the storm surge. Silt and swamp vegetation prevent the most intense part of the storm surge from hitting homes and businesses.

Estuaries are such an important part of our natural environment that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the National Estuary Program in 1987. This program seeks to improve the quality of estuaries to protect important wildlife habitats, public water supplies, and coastal regions affected by severe storms.

The development of coastal wetlands for housing, industry, or agriculture reduces the natural barrier that wetlands provide. Communities can protect themselves against storm surges by maintaining healthy coastal wetland ecosystems.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/storm-surge

A lot of the gunk and debris deposited at Goleta City Beach and elsewhere does not magically disappear back into the oean on the next high tide. It washes out to sea and them comes back onshore farther south as the tide comes back in. Go look at North Rincon (Bates) Beach and the Ventura County beaches farther south. They need a cleanup fast from the bacteria, snakes and rats now living among the tree lumber deposited there.

Run the trucks to the waterside just east of bird refuge outlet. Save twenty miles on round trip. Reduce footprint.

In the early to mid 70's when I was attending SBJH and SBH, I use to body surf there at Butterfly Beach with my friends that resided in Montecito. I guess that would be hard to do this coming spring and summer when the waves are good with all those rocks there.

Mother Nature doing her thing. Every so often she lets loose. It’s great. I just wish we could stop spending ungodly amounts of taxpayer money to keep the creekside ultra wealthy Montecito homeowners in their poorly-located properties. See Noozhawk article:
https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-estimates-150-million-in-storm-damages-to-public-infrastructure/

Very unnatural to me to have to trap (debris basins, nets!), dig out, and truck all this earth that’s coming down from the mountains and lay it somewhere else. Talk about Carbon footprints. They’re even running street sweepers all around the Goleta beach entrance because of the mud footprints. Add insult to injury? Goleta Beach Park is closed to us until who knows when.

Thanks for all the photos!

The sand will be back.

Seen before: 1977 (or 78) the original sandstone railing/wall along that stretch was blasted to smithereeeeeenz. That same storm event also, the rather short pier at Coral Casino was washed away (or as my father would say, "warshed away"). Not new these "killer" King Tides.

It was not the king tides alone, but the combination of high tides and the arrival of a giant west swell.

“never-before-seen surge in front of the luxurious Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel”

Yes seen before. In 1983 I personally watched the ocean surge onto the Biltmore lawn and deposit a gigantic round buoy. A boat ended up on Channel Drive.

This just in: Montecito files lawsuit demanding return of storm sediment hastily dumped at less-affluent neighboring community beach; dredging and trucking to begin next week. /s

Lazy summer swells will bring the sand back.

Ouch. Does not look fun to run (or even walk on). Will there be enough sand coverage this summer or is this the new reality for that beach?