It’s still two weeks until the Fourth of July, but early Thursday morning in Newport Beach an arsonist chose to get the pyrotechnics started a little early taking aim at an unlikely victim and torching it to the ground: the Wedge’s iconic “W” lifeguard tower.
Of yet, nobody is quite sure why a lifeguard tower would be the cause of so much ire.
Newport Beach Police are searching for answers, but from the little that’s known so far, it appears around 3:30 a.m. someone mysteriously lit the aging tower on fire after multiple attempts.
The blaze was caught on Surfline’s Wedge camera:
Police responded to the fire at 3:41 a.m., according to police records, and took down a report but were unable to save the tower or apprehend the perp.
While thankfully nobody was hurt, some are hoping to get their hands on a plank of wood that carries the names of many Wedge surfers, bodysurfers, and bodyboarders who have died. According to the OC Register, the plank was hauled off to the city yard with the rest of the scorched debris, but Newport Lifeguards have requested fire department officials do what they can to salvage it.
“The story is the tower is gone. The side story is, there’s a lot of history in this tower,” Robert Mansfield told the Register. Mansfield and Brandon Clark made attempts to salvage the plank of wood. “Everybody is asking about it,” said Clark.
According to the Register, the lifeguard tower at the Wedge has been in place since 2005 and was nearing the end of its lifespan. Replacement cost is between $12,000 to $15,000.
