Here's What You'll Find at Seal Beach After Days of Steady Rain

Runoff from inland cities flows to the ocean, carrying trash and debris along with it

Days of rain have turned Orange County's Seal Beach into a landscape littered with debris -- plastic crates, furniture, food containers, a stuffed toy bear and other items washed to the sea by the bloated San Gabriel River. 

It's part of a familiar cycle. The trash left upstream is captured by runoff from inland cities -- and it has to go somewhere.

"It was horrifying, that's the only way I could explain it," Trish Gussler, who visited the beach to watch birds, told the Orange County Resgister. "It was phenomenally sad."

The transformation from picturesque coastline to trash pile happens at other Southern California beaches during the wet season. Crews were clearing debris from Seal Beach on Monday.

If you'd like to help with the clean-up, the agencies below offer opportunities to pitch in.

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