Southern California beaches remain closed following possible shark attack

Waters from Balboa Pier south to Crystal Cove State Park are closed Monday following a possible shark attack Sunday afteoon, officials said.

Newport Beach lifeguards, the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol and a Huntington Beach Fire Department helicopter have been patroling the waters to see whether there is evidence of a shark in the area, said Mike Halphide, a Newport Beach lifeguard battalion chief.

As of 8:40 a.m., Halphide said no shark has been spotted.

Beachgoers began huddling on the sand in the overcast moing. Many were drawn down to the beach because of the possible shark attack, Halphide said.

A woman is recovering at a Santa Ana hospital after possibly being bitten by a shark about 150 yards off the coast of Corona del Mar State Beach.

Halphide said a marine biologist will likely determine later today whether the woman was attacked by a shark or not.

Her condition remains the same as Sunday with likely non-life threatening injuries, Halphide said.

The woman was first spotted spotted by Newport Beach lifeguards at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. The lifeguards were on a routine patrol when they saw her signaling for help, waving her arms in the air. She was in a wetsuit off Corona del Mar State Beach – an area known as a training spot for long-distance ocean swimmers, said Newport Beach Chief Lifeguard Rob Williams.

Lifeguards said she was bleeding heavily from wounds to her arm and shoulder consistent with an animal bite, said Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Fiigan.

The woman was transported by ambulance to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana. Hospital officials did not release information about the woman’s condition Sunday night, but authorities confirmed they are not expecting the injuries to be life threatening.

Though emergency dispatchers said the initial call came in as a shark attack, lifeguards were initially unable to confirm what happened, Fiigan said.

They also haven’t been able to determine if another animal, such as a sea lion, may have bitten her, Fiigan said.

Lifeguards have ruled out the possibility the woman was injured by a boat or other watercraft, she added.

Laguna Beach Lifeguard Captain Tom Trager said the water and beaches in Laguna are open.

“The details about what happened there have been a bit sketchy,” he said. “Usually, they close the water for a mile in both directions off an incident.”

Staff writers Tomoya Shimura and Scott Schwebke contributed to this report.

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