[symple_googlemap title=”Crystal Cove State Park” location=”Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Beach, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
Things were getting back to normal around Laguna Beach Monday after a tough weekend of roaring brush fires, traffic jams from road closures and the evacuation of a nearby beach due to a dangerous military device.
A section of Crystal Cove State Park just north of Laguna was evacuated and closed off Sunday after the old military device drifted ashore.
The cylindrical “marine marking device” that emits smoke was 16 inches long and three inches by diameter, said California State Parks District Superintendent Todd Lewis.
The device was found between noon and 1 p.m. in the Treasure Cove area of the beach, he said
“They’re not explosive, but they do contain dangerous chemicals and can be a public safety hazard,” Lewis said.
Newport Beach firefighters, the city of Huntington Beach’s hazardous materials team and an Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad closed off a 1,000 foot perimeter of Treasure Cove so the device could be safely removed, he said.
No injuries were reported and the section of the beach was reopend Sunday night.
Meanwhile, a giant brush fire in the inland wilderness away from the beach in Laguna roared through the area Sunday, forcing the closure of Laguna Canyon Road, the 133 major highway between Laguna and the San Diego (405) Freeway. That forced beach traffic to use busy coastal roads, creating significant traffic problems as the weekend came to an end.
The road has been reopened as firefighters got the upper hand on the blaze.
— City News Service