Shark sightings: Sunset Beach reopens, then closes again

Sunset Beach reopened Monday morning after a two-mile stretch was closed Sunday afternoon when several large sharks were seen near the coast, officials said.

But Huntington Beach marine safety officials closed a 1-mile portion of the same Sunset Beach shore at 3:40 p.m. Monday after a police helicopter spotted three 10-to-12-foot great white sharks in the water, said Huntington Beach marine safety Lt. Claude Panis.

No one was injured and the sharks showed no signs of aggressive behavior. Huntington officials notified Seal Beach marine safety and Seal Beach officials closed a stretch of Surfside Beach, Panis said.

The closures came about a week after a 52-year-old woman was attacked by a shark while swimming off Newport Beach.

A helicopter crew from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department spotted the sharks about 2 p.m. Sunday near Anderson Street in Huntington Beach, said Lt. Claude Panis, who is with Huntington Beach Fire Department’s Marine Safety Division.

Those sharks were at least 8 feet long and about 150 yards from the shore, Panis said.

Sunset Beach, which is in Huntington Beach, and the adjoining Surfside Beach in Seal Beach were closed to swimmers and surfers Sunday.

“It’s a precaution due to the size of the sharks and potential for aggressive behavior,” said Michael Diller, a lifeguard and beach supervisor in Seal Beach.

A Huntington Beach city helicopter surveyed the ocean about 3:30 p.m. Sunday and also found three sharks that measured about 10 to 12 feet, Panis said.

The beach was reopened at about 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to city officials.

Matt Hamilton is a writer with the Los Angeles Times. Times Community News staff writer Bryce Alderton also contributed to this report.