Huntington Beach mounts legal fight against beach closure

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People stroll along Laguna’s Main Beach after it reopened its beaches for active use only.
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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Mathew Hanna jumps on a skim board at Laguna’s Main Beach on Tuesday morning as city reopened its beaches for active use only. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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Cathie Lawler with her dogs, Milo and Charlie, said “Absolutely fabulous. So good to see the beach” as she walked along Laguna Beach after it reopened for active use only. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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Goff Stepian rides a wave on his paddle board at Laguna’s Main Beach. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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People stroll along Laguna’s Main Beach after it reopened its beaches for active use only. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of beach-goers playing volleyball on a nice day at the beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure, which is still in place in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of a few surfers and beach-goers enjoying a nice day at the beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure, which is still in place in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of a few surfers and beach-goers enjoying a nice day at the beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure, which is still in place in Newport Beach on Monday. (Allen J. Schaben/Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Bicyclists and pass the closed Boardwalk Sports store on the boardwalk in Newport Beach, on Monday. The business is only renting bicycles but is hoping to fully open after Gov. Newsom’s announcement that some businesses will be able to reopen. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of the Newport Beach pier, where a few surfers and beach-goers enjoy a nice day at the beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure, which is still in place in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Bill Beukers and his wife, Teresa, claim their constitutional rights as they speak to Newport Beach police officers. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer climbs over a barrier meant to keep visitors off the beach in Newport Beach on Saturday morning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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Police and protesters find a shady spot along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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Newport Beach lifeguards and police clear the beach during a closure that went into effect Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters stage a protest in Laguna Beach on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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A motorcycle officer patrols the bike path near the Huntington Beach Pier on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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Huntington Beach resident Kyle Richardson, 35, holds a sign telling California Gov. Gavin Newson to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen beaches, parks and the California economy, during a protest near the Huntington Beach Pier on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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A Newport Beach lifeguard evacuates the beach as a closure went into effect Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters against beach closures walk in Newport Beach even though a beach closure went into effect Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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A police cruiser patrols near the Huntington Beach Pier on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters gather near the Huntington Beach Pier, demanding that California Gov. Gavin Newson lift stay-at-home orders. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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People walk on the sand in Newport Beach despite the beach closure that went into effect Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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People enjoy the sun near the pier in Huntington Beach on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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Under the watchful eyes of police officers, protesters against beach closures walk along Newport Beach even though a beach closure went into effect Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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A couple walks along the sand while others venture into the surf in Newport Beach even though Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered Orange County beaches closed. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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People enjoy the sun in downtown Huntington Beach on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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A motorcycle officer watches the bike path near the Huntington Beach Pier on Saturday. California Gov. Gavin Newson ordered a hard closure of Orange County beaches this weekend. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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Surfers and others ventured to the beach in Newport Beach on Saturday despite the governor’s closure order. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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Saturday’s beach closure did not keep surfers out of the water in Newport Beach. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

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Protesters wave a variety of flags, including a Confederate one, along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach on Saturday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of a mostly empty Huntington Beach following Gov. Newsom’s “hard close” of Orange County beaches. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Huntington Beach lifeguards patrol with a boat to try to get surfers to stop defying Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “hard close” order. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Steve Christopher, right, reads a book in the shade of the pier as a beach-goer does flips across the beach on the last day of open beaches in Huntington Beach. “I think it’s what needs to be done,” Christopher said. “I saw it last week and it was packed.” (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Surfers ride the waves on the north side of the Huntington Beach Pier Friday, May 1, 2020. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered Orange County beaches closed on Thursday despite opposition from local leaders. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Emergency room nurse Rebecca McFarlane, of Covina, relaxes on her one day off from treating COVID-19 patients, on an open stretch of sand far away from other beach-goers on the last day of open beaches in Huntington Beach. “As a nurse, I have to wear all the PPE and on my one day off, I just want to relax on the beach,” McFarlane said. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of Huntington Beach after Gov. Newsom announced the “hard close” of all Orange County state and local beaches. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view shows visitors enjoying the sun and sand near the pier in Newport Beach on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer catches a wave while joining some of the thousands of beachgoers over the weekend in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Newport Beach officials said beach visitors followed distancing guidelines over the weekend. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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On Tuesday, beachgoers pass a statue of Newport Beach lifeguard Ben Carlson, who died while conducting a rescue. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A man in a protective mask walks his dog past a closed park near the pier in Newport Beach on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A motorist makes a statement via a back window as pedestrians walk past a store display in Newport Beach that features a mannequin in a mask. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Beachgoers dot the sand in an aerial view of Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Weekend beach crowds, such as those in Huntington Beach, spurred alarm among some officials. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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People crowd the bike path near Huntington Beach pier on Saturday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view shows surfers waiting for a wave Saturday off Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Anh Do

and Richard Winton

April 30, 2020 8:39 PM PT

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Thursday night during an emergency session to seek an injunction against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to close Orange County beaches.

The governor ordered Orange County beaches closed on Thursday despite opposition from local leaders who argue they should decide whether it’s safe to hit the sand.

Over the weekend, thousands flocked to Orange County beaches, which remain open even though Los Angeles County beaches are closed.

“Specific issues on some of those beaches have raised alarm bells,” Newsom said. “People that are congregating there, that weren’t practicing physical distancing, that may go back to their community outside of Orange County and may not even know that they contracted the disease and now they put other people at risk, put our hospital system at risk.”

Newsom said Orange County beaches would be reopened soon if the situation improved.

The council voted 5-2 to approve filing for an emergency injunction to block Newsom’s closure order.

Earlier in the day, Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said the city invested considerable effort and expense to discourage overcrowding at the beaches and worked hard to ensure the public had safe access to the beach for exercise and their mental well-being.

“Our experience here locally has been that most people are being responsible and complying with social distancing, and given that Orange County has among the lowest per capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the state’s action today seems to prioritize politics over data,” Semeta said in a written statement.

In a statement on Thursday, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said his intention “is to not take enforcement action on this order.”