Photos: A glimpse into the past as Oceanside reels from pier fire

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — “It’s just very shocking that something would happen to our Oceanside Pier. It just means so much to so many people, ” said Kristi Hawthorne, the director of the Oceanside Historical Society.

The iconic North County pier caught fire Thursday afternoon, sending many locals down memory lane. Hawthorne herself spoke of times shared with her family walking along the wooden structure that’s visited regularly by so many.

Hawthorne expressed sentiments mostly likely shared by many in the community after seeing dark plummets of smoke overcast the quaint beach town.

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“When you saw that smoke, you know, we’re thinking the whole structure is going to catch fire, but the crazy thing about it is it’s still smoking now (Friday morning),” Hawthorne continued. “And, you know, there’s still concern about what’s going to be left and what’s going to happen.”

As shocking as it feels for many, this isn’t the first fire on the Oceanside Pier.

First built in 1888, the pier has been restructured a total of six times since. In 1967, a café on the fifth version of the pier caught fire, the historical society director said. That business was also located at the west-facing far end.

Unlike the recent fire, which was still smoldering Friday morning after more than 12 hours, the previous fire was put out in about one hour, according to the historical society. Despite this, a sixth version of the pier — the structure that’s currently standing — came later because it was already in precarious shape due to a storm.

“Historically, when other piers have had damage to them, they usually will just rope off the end, if you will, and I see that’s going to happen,” Hawthorne asserted. “They’re going to have to determine if the pier structure is safe.”

She alluded to the notion that the end of the pier may have to be taken off completely and rebuilt, though that has not yet been determined as the city is still assessing the damage.

“It’s synonymous with Oceanside, you know, we can go out 1900 feet to the ocean, we can look back at the city, you can fish, you can stroll,” she continued. “It just, you know, elicits so many wonderful memoires that people have.”

The Oceanside Historical Society reflected on the reeling moment by sharing some photos of the pier over the years, which can be seen below.

“The pier is a very personal thing and we feel it’s ours and it belongs to the whole city and, of course, whoever visits us, but we all have a personal thing for it. So it hurts like you’re losing something that belongs to you,” said Hawthorne.

The cause of Thursday’s fire is still under investigation. At this time, plans for what’s next at the Oceanside Pier remain undetermined.

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