Surf’s back up.
City and state beaches in Huntington Beach, California, fully reopened on Monday morning, a little more than a week after a 126,000-gallon oil leak.
Visitors were allowed to walk on the beach beginning Oct. 5, but the oceans were closed off until this week, according to Surf City USA’s website.
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“The joint decision to reopen comes after coastal ocean & wetlands water quality testing results showed non-detectable amounts of oil-associated toxins in our ocean water,” the Huntington Beach website stated.
Although people could still visit the beach and the local shops, the ocean’s closure caused by the spill hurt many of the businesses due to a lack of visitors to the beach.
Even after the beach’s reopening, some visitors and surfers are hesitant to head back to the waters. Sean Rinehart, a 49-year-old surf instructor and chef from Huntington Beach, headed out to surf on Monday but decided not to after he smelled dead fish near the pier, according to the Associated Press.
The oil spill also caused beach events planned for the month of October to move to other dates. Events such as the Los Angeles Times’s Food Bowl and the NSSA National Surf Competition were postponed to a later date. Other events, including Surf City USA’s HB City Surf Contest and the Rockin Fig Vintage Surf Festival, were outright canceled, the beach’s website said.
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The oil spill that led to the beach closures occurred on Oct. 2.
The Coast Guard is investigating whether a German cargo ship and its anchor caused the leak.
