The Coast is Clear! Huntington Beach Reopens After Shark Incident

The coast was clear at Huntington Beach today, as a 24-hour “shark sighting” closure of one of America’s most-popular beaches ended.

The beach was re-opened to the public at 8 a.m. today, said Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis.

And at noon, another lifeguard said there have been no further sightings of sharks today along Huntington Beach.

On Friday, a surfer Friday described “boiling” water around him, and spotted the shark, which he described as 5 to 8 feet in length. It damaged his board.

Lifeguards then ordered everyone out of the ocean.

“He was bumped, which meets our criteria for aggressive behavior,” according to Panis.

No one was being allowed in the water from Beach Boulevard to the pier, and state parks officials were doing the same on their portion of the shore.

Today, scattered surfers were in the water. One told a local TV station he did not see the closure signs, and the warnings from a lifeguard in a truck were “muffled.”

City News Service