Santa Barbara County beaches quiet as weekend closure begins
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara County's last-minute closure of beaches kept busy crowds away from the sand Friday as the Fourth of July holiday weekend officially began.
The County health order bans passive recreation--such as sitting or sunbathing--until Monday, but allows people to use the beach for "active recreation."
This includes running, walking and even volleyball. In the city of Santa Barbara, East Beach volleyball nets stayed up and relatively active early Friday.
People can still use the beaches to access the ocean for swimming or water sports. Santa Barbara's boat launch ramp remained open as well.
Parking areas near city beaches will be closed. Other lots along the Santa Barbara Waterfront, such as those near the Harbor, will remain open, according to the city.
The health order's goal is to prevent the temptation for crowds to gather or socialize at the beaches over the long weekend, as local coronavirus cases rise and health experts express serious concern about the community's health.
Signage about the countywide beach closure seemed a bit lacking on Friday. Enforcement will fall mostly on the shoulders of County Sheriff's deputies, local police, and lifeguards. In the city of Santa Barbara, Harbor Patrol and Parks & Recreation staff will also be out enforcing the rules.
“People coming out with chairs, umbrellas--lifeguards will be making contact,” said Tony Sholl, the city’s Aquatics Supervisor. “And just letting them know what the new health order says. If they wanna put their bag [down] and go for a jog or a walk or a paddle, that’s totally acceptable.”
Sholl says he's optimistic the city can handle any increased crowds at the beach over the weekend, though he says lifeguards' top priority is protecting people in the water.
“The best case scenario is everybody complies,” he said. “Everybody comes down and stays active on the beach and understands the state that we’re in.”
Locals had a mixed reaction to the countywide beach closure.
“It would have been horrifying if they left [the beaches] open,” said Jesse Bellinger. “Everybody from the entire coast would have been here, because we were the last beaches open, basically… I don’t know what [visitors are] gonna do, walk around for a while and go home or something? Just stay home.”
Another man who did not want to speak on camera is frustrated with the closure, saying this weekend is his first time off in months and he wanted to spend time at the beach. He believes people could have distanced at the beach safely.
Others believe the closure was simply unnecessary.
“I think it’s crazy,” said a local resident named David. “It seems like, hypocritical to me to enforce this kind of thing, which should be a person’s choice.”
