DEL MAR, Calif. — People living near Del Mar beaches are preparing for potential damage from a winter storm headed to the San Diego County coastline.

City crews on Tuesday used their bulldozers to try to build back a tiny bit of beach sand that has been lost in the major storms in January.

“We’re reloading that system and January was typified by seacliff collapses. Pacific Beach, Del Mar, Torrey Pines all these places, we may very well be in for another episode of those,” said Pat Abbott, a professor from San Diego State University.

Beachfront homeowners who are still recovering from January’s storms have learned some important lessons.

“The water was hitting the plywood and my neighbor did the same thing but we use 4 by 4s and they use 2 by 2s and the water hit the plywood and actually broke it,” said Tony Verano, a beachfront homeowner in Del Mar. “The water came right through the seawall.”

Verano said he has learned from the January storm that furniture left on the patio is a terrible idea.

“Took some of the patio furniture and it crashed through their glass doors, their windows and water came through the house,” Verano explained.

Abbott said the San Diego coastal areas could be in for a wild ride.

“The higher the winds, the higher the waves, the higher the tides. In other words, how do those things fit together? If they combine their maximum amounts then we could have water going into these houses again,” Abbott pointed to the beachfront homes in Del Mar.