With Sharks Lurking Off The O.C. Coast, A Lot Of Beachgoers Stay Out Of The Water
CORONA DEL MAR (CBSLA.com) — When it's hot, hot, hot, Angelenos flock to the beach.
With recent shark sightings and one attack, they're still flocking but a lot of folks said not, not, not to the water.
KCAL9's Adrianna Weingold spoke to some people who avoided the water.
With last month's shark attack still a hot topic here in Corona del Mar many people out escaping the heat were extra cautious about going in the water
"My friends were trying to drag me into the water but I was too scared to go in," said Chloe Yoon.
It was a scorcher today -- even at the beach -- but the hot temperatures weren't enough to get Yoon to take a dip, fearing she could fall victim to a shark bite
"I'm afraid of the 13 sharks that were spotted," she said.
"I do not want to be out there," said Carly Gonzalez of Yorba Linda.
The busy beach day had life guards working overtime. In Huntington Beach all the towers were open, with lifeguards patrolling from the sand and water.
"This years been a banner year in terms of great white sightings, we've had a lot of the juvenile great whites on our coast and a lot of people have seen them," said Huntington Beach Fire Department Lt. Claude Panis.
Last month's shark attack in Corona del Mar wasn't far from people's minds.
Gonzalez and husband Louie took a break from triple-digit heat in Yoruba Linda to enjoy life in Newport but they didn't let their 20-month-old son get anywhere near the water.
"We've just heard about the shark sightings recently and so we stayed away from the water, pretty much we just stayed on the shore," said Carly.
But lifeguards say rip currents at the moment are actually more dangerous than sharks, saying 90 percent of rescues have been a result of dangerous water.
Officials say if you do plan on going for a swim, be careful, stay close to an open lifeguard tower and never swim alone.
