Video by Sequoyah Faulk-Kellogg.
Around the same time that a 67-year-old woman was washed off the North Jetty by heavy surf this afternoon, three others on the exposed walkway were filmed running for their lives to escape the crashing waves.
Reader Sequoyah Faulk-Kellogg sent the Outpost frightening drone footage of the event.
“These three people had just realized that the woman they had seen at the end of the Jetty was no longer there,” Faulk-Kellogg told the Outpost. “I’m not sure if they actually saw her get swept in or not, but they were in the process of talking to 911 when this video was taken.”
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges told the Outpost that the HCSO only responded to one emergency call at the jetty today, but said that a relative of the victim was also nearly washed off the jetty at the same time.
“The reporting party is a relative of the victim and was almost washed out by the wave but was able to hang onto the rocks to prevent himself from being swept off the wall,” Karges said.
It’s unclear if the people in this video have any connection to the woman who was pulled from the ocean and flown to St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka today.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office released the follow statement addressing today’s events:
While we are fortunate to have beautiful beaches in Humboldt County, with the ocean also comes great danger. Despite many warnings regarding the dangers of sneaker waves and large swells, particularly at our jetties, many people are swept out to sea each year. This is not only devastating to families who have lost their loved ones, it is heart-wrenching for our deputies and our community each and every time it occurs.
The Sheriff’s Office and our Office of Emergency Services, in partnership with the National Weather Service, are continuously seeking to educate the public about the very real dangers of our ocean, particularly on days like today in which a High Surf Advisory has been issued. We urge the public to check with the National Weather Service for relative forecasts and warnings before visiting our beaches and to exercise great caution if choosing to go near the water. Watching the waves is not worth your life. Please use caution at our local beaches and help us spread the word: never turn your back on the ocean.
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