Ocean Way Festival cancelled as Santa Monica beach erodes

Santa Monica cancelled the two-day Ocean Way Festival on Sept. 11 after coastal erosion left its planned beach site unsafe, city officials said.

The festival was scheduled for later in September and was set to feature The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White. Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, said storm surf generated by Hurricane Marie and runoff from a storm drain outfall eroded a large part of the site. Waves reached up to 15 feet, or 4.5 meters.

Mayor Caroline Torosis said the surf took the beach planned for the event and the city could not put tens of thousands of festival-goers on the sand until it was safe.

The cancellation came amid other coastal erosion problems in Southern California. Malibu officials ordered 31 homes evacuated after pounding surf opened a large sinkhole at the driveway of a beachfront home belonging to actor Nicolas Cage. Farther south, at least seven homes in Dana Point were declared uninhabitable after rapid coastal erosion, and one house collapsed into the sea. A similar problem was reported in Laguna Beach.