Great white attacks surfer

Surfer’s encounter prompts officials to temporarily bar access to three Santa Barbara County beaches.

Vandenberg Air Force Base closes three beaches after a surfer is attacked by an 8- to 10- foot shark.

Vandenberg Air Force Base officials closed three beaches for much of the weekend after a surfer was attacked by a great white shark Thursday evening.

The surfer suffered nonlifethreatening injuries to his knee and cuts to other parts of his body in the attack, which occurred about 5: 30 p. m. a quarter- mile north of Wall Beach, officials said.

Ralph Collier of the Shark Research Institute said the shark was 8 to10 feet long.

The confirmed attack prompted Vandenberg Air Force Base to close Surf, Wall and Minuteman beaches for 72 hours. The order will be lifted at 4 p. m. Sunday, according to a statement from the base, which is north of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County.

Base officials asked the public to avoid the beaches “due to safety considerations.”

Collier said he planned to examine the surfer’s board, which was scraped, to get more information about the shark.

With more beachgoers heading to the shore and a main food source — seals and sea lions — on the upswing in California, the chances of a shark encounter have increased, he said.

“I am surprised we don’t have more events like this,” Collier said.

Still, shark attacks remain extremely rare: A person is more likely to die by being struck by a falling coconut than being attacked by a shark, Collier said.

Official shave logged50 to 100 shark attacks per year worldwide since recordkeeping began, he said. Of those attacks, eight to 12 have been fatal.