Local environmentalists in Laguna Beach are asking city and county officials for help with vandalism inside a sea cave at the south end of Thousand Steps Beach.
Over the weekend, photos of graffiti appeared on social media showing the cave in a marine protected area defaced with huge scrawlings.
Jinger Wallace, co-founder of Laguna Bluebelt Coalition, was among those who saw the posts and immediately alerted the City Council and city management. She asked for increased enforcement at the beach.
“A small number of beach visitors have done tremendous damage and desecrated one of Laguna’s beautiful beaches,” Wallace said. “It is clear, Thousand Steps requires better supervision, perhaps a camera to monitor such illegal activities.”
She also suggested a reward for information on the vandals.
“Protecting our natural resources and a place we cherish is something we all need to do,” she said.
Wallace’s plea did not fall on deaf ears.
Councilman Peter Blake, calling the markings “vandalism,” said once alerted he acted immediately to have city staff reach out to county leaders. The South Laguna beach is overseen by OC Parks.
“Even as an art dealer, I’ve heard the notion that graffiti is art,” Blake said. “It isn’t. The content there has nothing to do with this community.”
OC Parks officials could not be immediately reached on Monday.
The sea cave at Thousands Steps is not considered a safe spot for people to try to access. The cave and its adjoining pools can be dangerous, especially for those unfamiliar with the ocean environment and ocean tides. In 2015, a teen died after slipping into a blow-hole crevasse just behind the cave.
In recent years, photos of the cave pools have spread on social media, enticing people to hangout. People post photos of themselves on the rocks, on the pool ledges and inside the cave.
Lifeguards have posted signs for people to stay away from the caves and pools and when they are on-duty, they’ve even had lifeguards posted up near the entrance advising people not to go in.
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