Palos Verdes Estates police are investigating a nighttime arson and vandalism incident at the demolition site of an illegal stone patio used by territorial surfers known as the Lunada Bay Boys.

Sometime on Tuesday evening, one or more vandals keyed the door of a contractor’s truck, scratched other construction vehicles and tampered with the ignition of a tractor-trailer parked on the blufftop, said Sgt. Tony Gonzalez of the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department.

“They messed with the ignition system so it could not be started,” he said.

Additionally, at the base of the cliff, a gas-powered air compressor trailer, tools and a generator were set on fire and sustained “minor to moderate” damage, and several fabric bags used to haul rubble were slashed, officials said.

Workers discovered the aftermath early Wednesday morning. They had left the site about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Gonzalez said.

Security added after incident

He said the contractor hired by the city, AMPCO Contracting Inc., did not have security guards present at the bay after working hours at the time of the incident, but does now. Police also made several visits Wednesday, he said.

No witnesses have come forward, Gonzalez said, and AMPCO has yet to provide monetary damage estimates.

Vandalizing vehicles to keep outsiders away from the prime winter waves has long been a trademark of the local surfers, who have been accused through the years of smearing surf wax on windshields and slashing and deflating tires.

Geoff Hagins, an anti-surfing localism activist who sued the Bay Boys two decades ago, believes the vandals must be familiar with the terrain of the steep cliffside.

“It just shows the kind of people they really are,” he said. “You’ve got to know what you are doing to go down that trail at night because, if you don’t, you’re going to (fall) 300 feet to the bottom.”

City officials called for tips via a project update posted on the Palos Verdes Estates city website Wednesday, saying the work site and contractors’ equipment were “severely vandalized.”

City Manager Tony Dahlerbruch said he did not have any more details about the crime beyond those that were added to the website Thursday.

City statement adjusted

“The city condemns and will not tolerate such conduct. The Police Department is actively investigating this criminal act,” the city statement said. “The city remains committed to the safety of the public and the safe use of public space, and it will maintain its efforts to ensure that the coastline can be safely enjoyed by visitors and residents alike. Removal of the structure will continue without interruption.”

An earlier version of the statement said the patio removal would continue “as it is clearly a step in the right direction,” though the line was later deleted.

Dahlerbruch did not address the revision, saying only that the entire city statement was “just updated” to reflect further details.

The city did not issue a Nixle alert about the arson, but did put one out Wednesday evening letting Lunada Bay residents know that a helicopter circling the neighborhood was not from police activity, but the news media.

Work on the site began Monday and was expected to wrap up Friday, with a crew using a jackhammer and other equipment brought in via helicopter to break apart the 30-year-old structure at the base of the cliff at Lunada Bay, where surfers are accused of operating as a criminal gang in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year.

City leaders ordered the patio demolition earlier this year after the California Coastal Commission received an anonymous tip about the stone structure with two rooftops for shade, a table, a barbecue area and steps. Spokeswoman Noaki Schwartz said the agency will not weigh in on the vandalism.

Los Angeles County Fire Department arson investigators also are assigned to the case.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Sgt. Luke Hellinga at 310-378-4211 or report anonymously at lacrimestoppers.org or by calling 800-222-8477.

Staff writers Cynthia Washicko and Ed Pilolla contributed to this report.