A shark sighting off the coast of Vandenberg Air Force Base has prompted officials to close its beaches for three days.
Col. Shane Clark, 30th Space Wing vice commander, ordered the closure of all beaches along Vandenberg’s coastline until Tuesday morning.
Officials said the beach closures are a precautionary measure due to a shark sighting at Surf Beach at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
The closure of the closest publicly accessible beach to the Lompoc Valley comes as record-setting hot temperatures are expected this weekend.
The Vandenberg coastline has been the site of two fatal shark attacks — in 2010 and 2012.
A nonfatal attack occurred in early October north of Wall Beach when a government civilian employee was bitten on the leg by a shark.
Later that month, kayakers off the coast of Vandenberg escaped an encounter with a shark.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.