6 days ago
Panama City Beach ordinance limits digging holes at the beach
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – It's against the law in Panama City Beach to dig holes deeper than 2 feet without refilling them.
One hole can easily trap a sea turtle that has come ashore to build a nest.
'We have a lot of sea turtles and marine life that come up onto our shores and cause them to get trapped or have a hard time to get back to their home,' Panama City Beach Beach Safety Supervisor Hannah Anderson said.
The sand holes can be extremely deceptive.
'People could like fall into the sand and they could get buried very deep if it was like a very deep hole and it would be very hard to get out,' beachgoer Carlos Nolser said.
In 2016, an Oklahoma teenager dug a hole in the side of a dune at St. Andrews State Park. The soft sand collapsed, burying Travor Brown in the hole.
First responders eventually pulled him out, but he suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. Brown died after his family agreed to remove him from life support.
Holes in the sand can also delay emergency vehicles' response time.
'If we get a call and we're going kind of fast on the sand, sometimes we can hit those holes that people have dug and it will stop us right in our tracks. Maybe we have to be out of service for that call if we have to work on getting us out of that hole,' Anderson said.
Beach Safety Patrol Officers patrol up and down the beach, keeping a lookout for deep holes. First, they provide a warning to the person responsible.
If the hole is not filled, code enforcement can write them a ticket, which costs more with every new offense. Many beachgoers are unaware of the ordinance.
'That's something I never would have thought about. But I had no idea the safety concerns that might come about from digging holes, you know, big-sized holes holding the sand,' Beachgoer Phillip Prater said.
No metal shovels are allowed on the beach and the city also has a 'Leave no Trace' ordinance, requiring people to remove all personal items from the ordinances also impact sea turtles, especially now that nesting season is underway. Panama City Beach Turtle Watch volunteers have found six turtle nests so far.
Once those eggs hatch, the hatchlings need a clean, dark, flat surface to make it to the Gulf. No holes in the beach can increase their chances of survival.
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