Big waves wreak havoc on the Oregon Coast

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (KATU/CNN) – Big surf, high wind, rain and hail pummeled Lincoln City.

“We’ve seen big high tides, water in the parking lot and debris, but nothing like this,” said Sydney Simon, the manager at Kyllo’s restaurant. “The waves were coming up higher than they have ever before. Up into this upper parking lot”

Simon, who grew up on the coast, said excitement soon turned to fear. “And then all of a sudden, we heard an alarm and smelled gas immediately.”

A wall of white water, estimated to be eight feet tall, slammed into the building’s pylons, carrying debris into the parking lot. Logs rattled the restaurant, severing the gas line and ripping out the plumbing system.

“This is a day you don’t want to walk on the beach,” said Lincoln City firefighter Jim Kusz. He added one woman was taken to the hospital when a large sneaker wave rolled a log into the group. He said, “It’s just like a tsunami. All the debris that goes in and comes out.”

Next door to Kyllo’s, big waves heavily damaged oceanfront condos.

Lynn Bott was hit by a crashing wave. She said, “And all of a sudden there was a big wave coming, it blows in the window, and I’m thrown across the room with the water.”

Bott is thankfully ok. The ocean’s power, she said, is a humbling reminder. “I felt that God took care of me, and I feel blessed that I was not hurt and no one else in the room was hurt either,” she explained.

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