CRESCENT CITY, Calif. » Residents of a northern California harbor town once hit by a deadly tsunami are preparing for another as waves spawned by the massive Japan quake move closer to the western U.S. coast.

Fishermen in Crescent City are firing up their crab boats and leaving the harbor to ride out an expected swell, while residents living in a trailer park nearby are heading to higher ground.

Police are cruising low-lying areas, spreading the word to evacuate.

Boat owner John Brunsing says it isn’t so much the swell that’s dangerous but floating piers that get pushed over dock pilings when big waves hit.

Retired insurance agent Steve Wiley who lives at the Bayshore RV park say he was told of the evacuation by the sheriff who knocked on the door.

A 1964 tsunami killed 11 people in Crescent City.