Large waves along the cliffside knocked the doors of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse off their hinges and flooded the downstairs with two feet of water on Jan. 5, 2023. (Point Cabrillo Light Station via Bay City News)

CASPAR, CA, 1/6/23 — When Jen Lewis got a call from the Point Cabrillo Light Station’s alarm company around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, saying motion sensors had been set off on the west side of the building, she had a feeling they weren’t dealing with a break-in. A short time later, Lewis — the lighthouse’s fundraising and outreach manager — arrived to find a California State Parks maintenance crew on site, the lighthouse’s back doors blown open, and the downstairs museum soaked.

“We knew that the swell was going to be pretty big, but we had no idea it was going to be at that level,” she told The Mendocino Voice in a phone conversation. 

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