A section of Santa Monica State Beach, including the famed pier, was evacuated Wednesday evening, after an unknown substance was noticed in the ocean, reported KTLA 5.
Officials closed off the area from the 1700 block of Ocean Front Walk to Tower 15 after spotting a “hazardous acidic substance in the water,” a Los Angeles County Lifeguards representative told KTLA.
Lifeguards asked beachgoers to exit the water and vacate the pier at roughly 7:30 p.m. Numerous helicopters and emergency vehicles arrived on the scene.
A U.S. Coast Guard officer told KTLA that the substance looked like chemically treated sewage, which gradually would dissipate.
The beach is scheduled to reopen at about 7 a.m. on Thursday.
