OCEANSIDE, California — In April, a fire erupted towards the end of the Oceanside Pier. Now, months later the section is blocked off by gates although from a distance the damage left by the blaze is visible.
“I was pretty shocked, I was worried the whole pier was gonna go down that's initially,” Oceanside Resident Joe Ziber said.
The city plans to rebuild the damaged portion of the pier. First, the debris must be removed so city engineers can get a better look. During the process, the pier is expected to be open to the community for the most part. However, there may be short periods of time when the pier will be closed to move heavy equipment.
Engineers will then inspect the west-end pilings below to test their condition. From there, a plan will be made on how to rebuild the damaged portion of the pier.
“I'm glad that they're finally gonna take some action and start the repairs hopefully,” Ziber said.
As for the cause of the fire, there was no evidence of any intentional or incendiary act according to the city. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will release a formal report soon.
The city said in a newsletter that the entire process from debris removal to construction is expected to take a couple of years due to waiting for the necessary permits from several regulatory agencies.
“It's nice that it's finally happening, it's going forward …We know we’re gonna get our pier back and that's the important thing,” Oceanside Resident Roxanne Remmel said.
In 1988, as part of a fundraiser, name engravings on the pier’s railings were done. About 93 percent of the names were saved but now the city is asking for any families whose names are engraved at the far west end of the pier to contact them. For more details visit myemail-api.constantcontact.com/Oceanside-Pier-Update
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