Residents and business owners near King Harbor in Redondo Beach said unusually high tides flooded sidewalks and impacted waterfront businesses.

Residents and business owners near King Harbor in Redondo Beach said unusually high tides flooded sidewalks and impacted waterfront businesses, with some saying they had never seen conditions like it before.

Water from the bay spilled onto sidewalks along the harbor during high tide, prompting concern among residents and business operators in the area.

“Been at the marina for 15 years and I’ve lived here my whole life, I’m 72, so I’ve never seen anything like this in my whole life,” Chris Martz said.

Natasha Nelson, whose boat is docked at King Harbor, said the water level was significantly higher than normal.

“Only at this time of day, I would be able to see 3 feet below that sidewalk line, so there’s normally a lot of rocks here and I can see those with the crabs crawling on them, but as you can see, we’re already passed up the sidewalk,” Nelson said.

At BALEENkitchen, managers and workers used buckets to remove water from the restaurant and temporarily closed the business until 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, it was a different kind of dog park for the pups.

“Well it’s fun because the dogs can never get in the water, like, they would have to drop down and they can’t get out, so it’s fun they can come in and out on their own,” Sam said.

According to NOAA, this El Niño season is expected to strengthen into the winter months. Water temperatures are now surpassing the 2015 and 1997-98 El Niño years as the warmest on modern record.

Martz said the current conditions differ from previous El Niño seasons.

“Other El Niño years haven’t necessarily come along with very high tides. This is the first time we’ve had the waves coming from the equator and so that’s added a foot to the highest tides,” he said.

Despite the flooding, residents said they are preparing for what may come in the months ahead.

“We’re all keeping really good track of the tide and the storms so I think this winter we’re all just gonna be, you know, checking our apps, making sure that we’re in a safe place, not going out at the wrong time,” Nelson said.

Higher tides and king wave events are expected in November and December. Businesses along the waterfront, including BALEENkitchen, said this all comes during the busiest season — Thanksgiving and Christmas.