Back to Normal

Today was just another normal December day in Laguna Beach. The sun beamed overhead, volleyball and basketball players were sweating it out on the beach-side courts, tourists who had the luxury of taking in a weekday stroll around downtown were clutching bags filled with holiday goods, and Santa was in his house on the corner of Forest and Glenneyre, taking last-minute children's wishes.

About the only indication that things were very different just 24 hours earlier was the presence of several television trucks—some equipped with huge satellite dishes—that were occupying valuable parking space downtown. One truck, from KTLA Channel 5, hogged three metered spaces.

It and other outside news media were here to cover the aftermath of yesterday's flooding that took place both in downtown and Laguna Canyon.

The floods not only caused a surge in mud and debris across the city, but a surge of money out of local business owners' wallets—a gushing $4 million in damage, according to preliminary reports from the Laguna Beach Police Department.

The LBPD and several maintenance crews worked throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning in order to clean up the damage caused by the raging waters. Indeed, Forest and Ocean streets, as well as Broadway, which had been caked with mud and runoff debris, today had only the slightest trace of the previous day's muck.

"The entire downtown area is open for business," said Lt. Jason Kravetz of the LBPD. "We encourage everyone to come on down and shop or get something to eat."

Roads are also opening up, with major highways and roads currently available—with a few exceptions. Coast Highway reopened late yesterday afternoon in both directions. As of 5 p.m. today, Laguna Canyon Road was still closed, but "we will hopefully have it back to normal by tonight or tomorrow morning," said Kravetz.

With business owners scrambling to reopen their doors for the remainder of the Christmas shopping season, some have complained about the lack of insurance available. According to Jim Fulcher, an agent at John Campbell Insurance, that's not the case.

"Flood insurance is available in downtown Laguna, but it's quite expensive," Fulcher said. "With the recent floods, we can't sell insurance to business owners at this time."

The city is situated on a floodplain, which makes it very difficult to gain access to insurance, according to Fulcher. Also, prices can vary widely depending on location.

"I can't give an exact quote without actually seeing an area," he said. "Premiums can differ depending on small things such as a height between 3  or 4 feet."

But the claims are coming in from businesses that do have flood insurance.

"Our agency has had a few dozen claims from both businesses and homes in the area," Fulcher said.

Orange County health officials also closed all of Laguna's beaches from Crescent Bay southward and advised people to stay out of the water because of debris runoff and sewage.

Yellow signs were posted around Main Beach today advising swimmers and surfers of the risks. Still, some chose to ignore them, blissfully unable to resist the lure of another normal, sunny, carefree Laguna Beach afternoon.