FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) -- The county park on Folly Beach took perhaps the biggest hit in the Lowcountry during Hurricane Irene. The park has not recovered, and will be closed for the 2012 summer season. After Irene and constant high tides, the beach is nearly gone.
"I never thought we would foresee this much damage and the ongoing erosion that we're experiencing," says Charleston County Parks Director of Operations, Philip Macchia. "I don't think anybody could anticipate that."
It was first unexpected, but it's now a reality. Folly Beach County Park will not be open next spring or summer.
The beach has taken on tremendous damage. Sand has virtually disappeared and washed away. Trees are now uprooted.
"We don't feel comfortable having a beach that at high tide everybody has to evacuate from, with the water coming up in the parking lot, it just becomes a danger issue," Macchia says.
He says, just two years ago, the sand used to pile as high as the walkways on the beach crossover. Today, it's not even close.
In September, following Hurricane Irene, the county and city of Folly Beach trucked in additional sand to create a new wall of dunes. They didn't last. The water has again pushed them back.
"In certain areas we've lost up to maybe 50 feet, going back off the beach of dunes and everything," says park manager, Eric Stewart.
The only thing that can save the beach is renourishment. Until it comes, the county has to rely on one, remaining sand wall of defense. At high tide, it's all that's left between the water and the land.
In the meantime, the park must be kept closed.
"It's a tough decision," Macchia says. "You hope the beach accretes sand. We just didn't feel like it would all come back in this short period of time."
The summer season typically starts in April or May - the park will not be open by then.
Folly last received renourishment help in 2005. The next time they expect to get that federal backing.
