Cocoa Beach Pier back open after storm

COCOA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The famous Cocoa Beach Pier is now completely open to the public.

For Bjorn Hansen, Cocoa Beach and its pier are part of his life.

Hansen explained "I've been surfing at this pier since 1973. So, yeah, it's a favorite spot."

Sunday, he watched crews put the finishing touches to reopen the pier. It was a different story a few days ago as he watched a storm significantly damage parts of the pier.

"It looked like a tornado coming our way," He said.

Brevard Emergency Management Director, Kimberly Prosser, said a "microburst" swept through with winds between 50mph and 60 mph, even injuring 3 people. The Pier was evacuated as the Pier's owner, WestGate Resorts, had engineers diagnose it.

Other crews are working tirelessly to repair and replace the damaged roof.

The pier is structurally solid and the businesses re-opened Saturday. The Boardwalk bar re-opened Sunday. Everything was completely open to all Sunday.

Kathy Ojeda and her husband Rikki Ojeda told FOX 35 Sunday, "That's great! That's good to hear. We thought it would be a lot longer from initial news reports."

Melissa Starke, said "That's good! Hopefully people will enjoy it."

The Starke family came to the beach just to experience the pier and beach.

"The kids have never been all the way out," The Starke family explained. "They want to build sand castles and play in the water. I'm sure we'll stop and eat lunch here at the pier."

During a beautiful day at the famous Cocoa Beach Pier.