Huntington Beach: 25 years after riots

In news stories printed at that time, it was reported that that rioters broke a metal fence railing and used the pipes to smash windows of five parked police cars. The rioters then overturned the vehicles and set them on fire with flares found inside the cars. As the cars burned, the mob tried to enter the lifeguard building. The officers and lifeguards inside evacuated, taking several injured people with them. Surfline.com has called it "a day that would change pro surfing forever."

Since then, the event has experience a few hiatus years and taken on different sponsors. But it still remains the biggest surf event on the planet, this year drawing hundreds of competitors in several divisions and an estimated half a million beach-goers over the course of its 10-day run.

If spectators notice a visible and reinforced police presence this week, that's a direct result of the 1986 mob violence. Also, city and contest officials agreed to never again hold the event over Labor Day weekend.

For the Huntington Beach Police Department's part, "more planning goes into it," said Lt. Tom Donnelly, who was also working beach patrol during the 1986 riot. "The event's bigger than ever. There's a lot of people on the beach. But so far the event has been well-planned. [As far as law enforcement is concerned,] there's been nothing major, nothing out of the ordinary. We don't try and drive the event, we just react to whatever comes our way."

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Keith Hamm

Action Sports

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