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Huntington Beach reopens after shark scare

July 11, 2015

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) – 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 surfer told lifeguards he had been bumped by a juvenile Great White shark about 8:45 a.m. Friday at Beach Boulevard, a mile south of the Huntington Beach Pier, on Friday morning.

The 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 Marine Safety Lt. Claude 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, despite the official closure. One told a local TV station he did not see the closure signs, and the warnings from a lifeguard in a truck were “muffled.”