SAN FRANCISCO – A portion of a World War II-era military structure slid down a rain-soaked San Francisco bluff onto the beach below, authorities said Monday.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area said beachcombers at Fort Funston shared the beach with the undermined concrete ruins.
The San Francisco Fire Department responded to the old outpost about 10 a.m. PST after the structure tumbled about 200 feet from the cliffs. There were no injuries associated with the collapse.
Capt. Jonathan Baxter, the fire department spokesman, told FOX Weather that wet weather was a factor in the incident.
“We had a lot of ground saturation throughout the week, and on that specific day, in addition to the ground saturation, we did have rainy weather and windy conditions,” he said.
The National Park Service closed the upper areas of the park, specifically to that location, and areas of the affected beach as authorities investigated. KTVU FOX 2 in Oakland reported that officials did not say what the structure may have been used for, or when it will be moved off the beach.
Built in 1917, Fort Funston became primarily a Nike missile site after its batteries were decided to be obsolete after World War II, according to the NPS. It now serves as a popular site for hang gliding across the country.
More than 40 inches of rain has fallen in some places in California since the end of December when the first series of atmospheric river storms began. There were nearly 60 reports of flooding in a 24-hour span Monday.
However, California is finally set to get a break from the relentless barrage of atmospheric river storms that have killed at least 20 people since the end of December and have pummeled the state with torrential rain, flooding, mudslides and beach erosion.
Last week, President Joe Biden approved both a major disaster declaration and an emergency declaration for the state of California in response to the deadly storms.