At least two people are recovering from injuries sustained as giant waves
slammed the Oregon and Washington coasts this weekend.
The weather was the result of a high surf advisory that ended up producing waves as high as 30-40 feet in some areas.
In Lincoln City Saturday morning, firefighters were called to a vacation rental property, run by Blue Pacific Vacation Rentals.
When they arrived they found a deck, partially collapsed into the rising tide, with a woman hanging from a the edge of an attached hot tub.
Firefighters said her husband, who had been on the deck watching the storm roll in with her, pulled her to safety.
She had minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital.
About two hours later, firefighters were called back to the beach after a second sneaker wave hit a woman walking along the coast.
She suffered a broken ankle.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Brenda Estes, via Facetime Sunday.
She lives in Grants Pass but was in Brookings, Oregon Saturday morning for her son’s basketball game.
Around 11 a.m., she went to the coastline to see the waves and found the beach, and a nearby bathroom, covered in ocean debris.
VIDEO: See the aftermath of the storm
Estes said the waves looked about 30 feet high.
People were stunned.
“There was just line after line after line of cars coming out of there to look at the place,” she said. “Everyone just looked like they were in shock.”
But it’s the same swell that’s got world-renowned surfers salivating.
The 13th annual Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic is scheduled take place in Lincoln City this Thursday.
But amid changing conditions and shifting winds, founder John Force said Sunday he may have to cancel.
He’ll make the final call Monday, but said via phone he hopes people learn to take the dangers of the sea seriously.
“Tourists that come over here, they’re just not ocean savvy and don’t think twice that a wave could come and snatch them right off the beach,” he said. “But it happens all the time. You just can’t turn your back on the ocean.”
The extreme weather comes one week after a Eugene man and his 3-year-old son were killed by a sneaker wave at Cape Blanco last week.
Experts recommend beach-goers avoid small, enclosed beaches and stay away from cliffs.
They also remind tourists, if you see signs warning of heavy tides or big waves, turn back.
PHOTOS: Storm damage along the Oregon Coast
(© 2017 KGW)
