12-foot shark sighting triggers warning to stay out of water off part of Huntington Beach
Lifeguards warned swimmers and surfers to stay out of a stretch of ocean at Bolsa Chica State Beach and Sunset Beach on Friday after a 12-foot shark was reported 100 yards from shore.
A Huntington Beach patrol helicopter crew saw what appeared to be a great white shark around 10:45 a.m. Lifeguards closed the area from a half-mile north of the sighting near Warner Avenue to the lifeguard headquarters in Huntington Beach.
The area is expected to open after 24 hours if there are no additional sightings, said state parks spokesman Kevin Pearsall.
Pearsall saw two surfers braving the waves early Friday afternoon despite warnings from officials. But, he said, more than 25 surfers heeded lifeguards who advised them to leave the water immediately after the sighting.
“It’s the third sunny day in a row in a long time. There’s no wind. It’s a perfect beach day, so we had a lot of surfers in the water this morning,” Pearsall said. “Most are complying with the request.”
Pearsall said the area is near where a group of juvenile great whites were lingering in 2015.
“The last few years we haven’t heard anything about them,” he said.
Friday is the first time this portion of the state beach has been closed in more than a year.
Great white sharks have been reported several times this month elsewhere in Huntington Beach.
On Tuesday, lifeguards issued a shark advisory after a group of anglers accidentally reeled in a great white while they were fishing on the shore in Sunset Beach. On Feb. 14, a fisherman hooked what appeared to be a juvenile 7-foot great white off the end of the Huntington Beach Pier.
Authorities have said shark sightings are becoming more common in the area. A 2014 survey found there were about 2,400 great white sharks living in California waters.
Last year, Chris Lowe, head of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, said he suspected that number has grown because of improved ocean-water quality and higher ocean temperatures.
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
