Sinkhole Swallows Path to Peninsula Public Beach

PACIFICA, CA - A sinkhole that opened up over the weekend on private property along a cliff face in Pacifica appears to have blocked access to a public beach.

The property is the responsibility of the owners of an apartment complex called Land's End Apartments on Esplanade Avenue, according to Pacifica City Manager Lorie Tinfow.

Over the weekend, someone associated with Land's End blocked access to a trail that leads down to the beach and put up a sign reading "beach access closed.

Monday-beach access closed in Pacifica, CA on esplanade ave. Huge sinkhole next to cliff @kron4news pic.twitter.com/ccl4Vyt3t2
— Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) December 12, 2016

"They put up the sign and roped off the access to the beach over the weekend," Tinfow said in a statement. "The City did not play a role in those activities."

Photos and video posted on social media sites show a large gap in the earth that has partially destroyed the path.

Sinkhole Swallows Up Pathway To Pacifica Beach https://t.co/vOCQWhY82B #sanfrancisco pic.twitter.com/KqX4yVqhm7
— San Francisco News (@SFnewsnow) December 12, 2016

The sinkhole is near the site of an apartment complex at 320 Esplanade Ave. that was demolished in March due to massive cliff-side erosion that threatened to pull the building into the ocean.

- Bay City News / Image via Steve Hardy Flickr