More than five months after the Oceanside Pier caught on fire, demolition of the damaged portion is set to begin.
"Next on the pier is to start scaffolding installation so that we can start bringing down the old Ruby's restaurant, the Brine Box, and remove the two burned up planks," said Oceanside city engineer, Brian Thomas.
He says they’ll set up scaffolding on Monday underneath the pier to prevent debris from falling into the ocean.
The scaffolding will also allow for a structural assessment of the substructure of the pier to determine what needs rebuilding.
Demolition of debris is expected to start on Oct 15.
"They'll be moving equipment on and off. They're going to be using spotters behind the equipment and in front of the equipment to keep people out of the way," Thomas said. "They're going to be using cranes .... a lot of manual labor to dump things into portable systems."
Thomas doesn’t expect long closures of the pier, but Parking Lot 29 north of the pier will be closed to accommodate machinery.
Consultants for marine mammal life will also be on site to ensure safety of animals and the environment, Thomas said.
"They'll be out here every day during demolition. If they notice that any marine mammals are in the area, they'll slow down the work. If they notice any of the animals are in distress, they will have work cease and desist until such time as they move on and then we can resume work," Thomas said.
While demolition work is set to begin, Thomas said it will be three to four years before the pier is rebuilt. He said costs and details of the rebuild are still undecided.
The restaurant and food kiosk are expected to have the same footprint as before, but Thomas said the pier will reopen before the restaurants are rebuilt.
"As soon as we can get the decking and the railing back on, we're going to open up the hammerhead portion back to the public, while we're still going through the process with the tenant to design the building, get it permitted through all the various agencies," he said. "And then once we get ready to build that, then we will have to close off a portion of the pier again for that rebuilt portion."
Investigators said they found no suspicious activity and believe the fire was accidental.
Insurance is covering some of the demolition and rebuild, with much of the work expected to last through the end of this year.
