Water supplies to all San Clemente beaches were shut off Monday due to “aggressive shark behavior,” according to city officials. The Memorial Day ordinance was issued after a surfer was knocked off his board by a shark on Sunday night.
The ocean will be closed until 8 p.m. Monday until there are no more shark sightings, according to the city. Orange County beaches remain open, but visitors will not be able to wade or swim.
San Clemente lifeguards first received reports of a shark encounter at T-Street Beach, a popular surfing spot, just before 8 p.m., according to San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Sean Staudenbaur. .
“The surfer and another surfer were sitting on their boards waiting for a wave when they saw a dark gray object approaching and knocking one of the surfers off the board,” Staudenbauer said. Come down. The surfer then came to shore to report the incident, at which point officials decided to close the water for 24 hours.
Staudenbauer said it was “unusual” for sharks to come so close to surfers, noting that “most of the sharks we see are just sightings with no signs of aggressive behavior.”
A surfer’s board was damaged after an encounter with a shark at San Clemente Beach on Sunday.
(San Clemente Marine Safety)
A photo taken by a San Clemente lifeguard and shared with The Times showed damage to the surfboard, with two dents near the tip believed to have been struck by the shark.
“There was quite a crowd on the beach, obviously not in the water today, but this is typically one of our busiest weekends of the year,” Staudenbauer said of San Clemente Beach on Monday.
