Beach reopens after fatal shark attack

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LOMPOC, Calif., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The beach at California's Vanderberg Air Force Base where a surfer died after being attacked by a shark was scheduled to be reopened, officials said.

The beach, to be open again Friday, had been closed since Tuesday after surfer Francisco Javier Solorio was bitten in his torso by what Andrew Nosal of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography suspects was a great white shark, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Solorio, 39, frequented the beach since he was a young boy, and was riding a short board in small waves when he was attacked by the shark just before 11 a.m. Tuesday. He is survived by a wife and young daughter, the Times reported.

The beach at Lompoc is known for cold waters and a strong undertow, so most people travel north to Pismo Beach or south to Santa Barbara for swimming and surfing, the newspaper said.

The Times said it was the 13th fatal shark attack in California waters since 1950 and the sixth since 2003.