Fort Lauderdale beaches reopen after reports of oil in water, sand
FORT LAUDERDALE -- After a day of advisories and investigations, Fort Lauderdale beaches reopened Sunday to swimmers.
Beachgoers in Fort Lauderdale were advised to stay out of the water after an unknown oily substance was found along the shoreline, the city's fire rescue announced Saturday.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue received 911 calls around 9 a.m. for an oil spotting on the beach near Las Olas Boulevard. The caller noticed his foot had oil on it after walking on the sand, FLFR said.
Ocean Rescue lifeguards told people to avoid the water from Riomar Street south to the Port Everglades inlet and red flags were put out on the beach alerting swimmers of the advisory.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it is investigating reports that tar balls were found along the coast from the National Response Center.
"As information becomes available, we will provide updates," it said on X.
Though the water was closed to swimmers, the advisories didn't stop everyone from going to the beach.
"This morning, we saw security pole people out of the water and initially we thought it was like sharks or something in the water, but we asked around and security said it was a possible oil slick that they were investigating," said Bobby Stockert, who was visiting from New York. "So, they took everyone out of the beach with the flags up and then I saw the Coast Guard helicopters searching so it was pretty wild before."
The red flag warnings have since been charged to yellow and purple, indicating medium hazards and marine life; however, city officials are still discouraging swimming at this time as lifeguards are off-duty for the night.