‘Credible report’ of shark bumping surfer prompts closure of O.C. beaches
A stretch of coast in Huntington Beach was closed Sunday after officials received a “credible report” that a surfer was bumped by a shark.
Huntington Beach Fire Department Lt. Claude Panis told the Orange County Register that the surfer was in the water Sunday morning near Tower 16 -- on the southern end of Bolsa Chica State Beach -- when the shark approached.
Parts of Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach were closed, the Register reported. They were slated to reopen Monday.
Last summer, Huntington Beach fire officials closed water access for the first time after a 7-foot great white shark showed “aggressive behavior” and bumped a surfer, Panis told The Times. The beach, however, stayed open.
A few months later, another shark sighting -- this time a 10-foot shark that rushed a surfer -- prompted closures at Bolsa Chica State Beach, Seal Beach and Sunset Beach.
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