Words of caution circulated online after a portion of the Santa Cruz Wharf in California broke off and drifted into the surrounding waters on Dec. 23.

Two people with minor injuries were rescued and transported to a local hospital, and a third made their way to safety on their own after the partial collapse happened at 12:45 p.m. PT, according to Santa Cruz officials. No deaths were reported.

A bystander-captured video and shared on X of a large part of the wharf, which is similar to a pier but often smaller, and its debris drifting in the water on the same day. The video owner is credited as Harrison Patiño. A second video, viewed by TODAY.com, shows a small, house-like wooden structure floating in the ocean following the partial collapse.

The 2,745-foot-long wharf has long been a local landmark and tourist attraction and was constructed in 1914, according to the City of Santa Cruz website. It is the sixth wharf to have existed at the site just off of Beach Street.

On X, the press office for Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, cautioned residents and visitors to avoid the area and follow local guidance.

“Newsom has been briefed on a previously damaged section of the Santa Cruz pier that broke off due to heavy surf,” the post reads in part. “(California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services) is coordinating with local officials and is ready to provide support.”

In a press conference later in the day, Santa Cruz officials confirmed that authorities had braced for potential damage to the wharf ahead of time due to strong storms and swell.

“We also would tell people that we want them to stay away,” Rob Oatey of the Santa Cruz Fire Department said. “We pointed out before, the ocean right now is extremely dangerous, so we’re telling all people to stay away, to observe from a safe distance. It’s the holidays, and we have people visiting from out of the area. Observe from a very safe distance. And if they can observe online.”

The official cautioned that debris from the wharf will continue to spread in the ocean and that storms would continue to affect the area for the next four or five days.

The Santa Cruz Wharf has now been closed to the public.

It is now illegal to possess or transport golden mussels in California.

The California Fish and Game Commission has designated the golden mussel a restricted species, the latest salvo in the battle to keep the invasive species out of the state’s waterways. The mussels are considered an immediate threat to the ecological health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and California waterways.

The emergency restrictions enacted at the commission’s Dec. 11–12 meetings in Sacramento add the mussel to the list of species restricted from live importation, transportation and possession.

“Putting golden mussels on the restricted species list is an important first step toward containment and prevention of spread of this non-native species,” said Jay Rowan, Chief of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fisheries Branch.

Authorities say golden mussels are a bigger threat to California waters than other mussel species because they can thrive in a wider range of water quality conditions.

State and local agencies have been on high alert for the golden mussel since it was first spotted in mid-October in the Port of Stockton.

The Oct. 17 discovery was the first in North America, say California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials.

The mussels, native to China and Southeast Asia, likely found their way to California waters by large ships.

The emergency listing will reduce the potential for people to introduce the bivalves to other waters of the state, say fish and wildlife officials.

The mussels easily make their way into live wells, bilges and ballast tanks, watercraft’s engine systems, plumbing and other compartments onboard boats. The mussels can survive for extended periods of time in the water that collects in the craft’s systems

Since the Stockton discovery, local agencies, including Solano County, have imposed travel restrictions and quarantines on watercraft sailing from the Delta.

In November, Solano County barred watercraft traveling from the Delta from launching in Lake Berryessa without a 30-day quarantine or decontamination.

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