Big waves, high tides batter beaches and homes in Orange County

The ocean rumbled with such force the ground shook when waves came crashing down. People standing too close to the water’s edge ran back, away from the rogue seawater as it pounded the shore and splashed upward toward the sky, water flooding into the Capistrano Beach parking lot threatening to drench curious bystanders.

Intrigued beachgoers showed up along the coastline this week at sunset for a seaside show, marveling at Mother Nature's raw force. But the spectacular sight was also a chance to see just how close the ocean’s reach is to endangered homes and infrastructure, and how a raging sea quickly chomps away at what’s left of Orange County’s eroding coastline.

“You see this and it’s like, this is cool and awesome,” said Cheri Harl, who was down at Capistrano Beach in Dana Point on Thursday night with a few dozen others who showed up as word of big waves spread. “But no, it’s destroying those houses down there, destroying property, destroying the beach here. You can’t do anything about it.”

Typically, it's the strong winter swells and king tides that bring worry. But this week, a strong summer swell produced bombing waves to the coastline and the moon’s gravitational force coincided to bring higher-than-normal tides -- and that’s when, for a few hours until the swell and tides ease, beaches take a blow.

(Video by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register)

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