Shark Attack Off California Leaves Surfer, 39, With Injuries To Both Legs And Forces Beach Closure

A 39-year-old man is recovering successful nan infirmary aft being bitten by a shark while surfing disconnected nan California seashore this week.

The incident occurred astatine astir 5 p.m. adjacent Big River Beach successful Mendocino Headlands State Park. According to California State Parks officials, nan surfer sustained injuries to some legs during nan encounter.

The man, identified by ABC News arsenic James Eastman, was helped by 3 off-duty lifeguards who were surfing successful nan vicinity astatine nan time. Following their first assistance, emergency responders from nan Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, Cal Fire and nan California Department of Fish and Wildlife arrived astatine nan scene.

"So 1 of nan thoughts was conscionable like, ‘Oh my God, this is really happening, this is an existent shark attack,’" Eastman told ABC News. "And I besides thought of my woman and my kid and I was just, like, ‘I cannot die. I can't dice correct now.’ I conscionable went into that conflict mode."

Eastman was taken to Adventist Health successful Fort Bragg. Authorities person not yet released an update connected his status.

Under modular State Parks protocol, nan formation was closed for 48 hours while nan California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted an investigation. In a connection to SFGate, officials noted that while sharks stay a captious constituent of nan coastal ecosystem, specified interactions pinch humans are "rare."

Despite nan humanities rarity of these events, California recorded 10 known shark encounters past year, marking a grounds precocious for nan state.

In October, British swimmer Chris Murray fought disconnected a great achromatic shark while swimming disconnected nan seashore of Los Angeles. Murray had been attempting nan 20-mile aquatics crossed nan Catalina channel erstwhile nan juvenile awesome achromatic clamped its teeth into his outstretched hand.

Wednesday’s incident besides follows a fatal incident successful December, erstwhile 55-year-old Erica Fox was killed successful Monterey Bay, nan first specified fatality involving a achromatic shark successful California since 2023.

In Mendocino County specifically, information shows only 7 reported encounters since 1950. However, this is nan 2nd incident successful nan region this twelvemonth — successful January, a surfer survived an onslaught adjacent nan Gualala River, astir 50 miles southbound of Wednesday's site, which near his committee snapped successful half.

"Sharks are an important portion of nan coastal ecosystem," State Parks officials told SFGate, though they reiterated that nan section is continuing to show nan area.