Any jet skier worth their salt who has been to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, should be familiar with Body Beach. The famous riding spot has been a favorite testing shore, party spot and general hangout well before the first standup was even a twinkle in Clayton Jacobson’s eye. Accessible either by water or a winding dirt road off of Highway 95, Body Beach is also known as the place to be before and after each year’s IJSBA World Finals, as racers busily prepare before the event, and let off some steam afterwards.
But things weren’t too great this past Saturday night, as flames engulfed several acres surrounding the spot. According to a report by Havasu News, the fire began just before 10pm and spread about 6 1/2 acres, burning almost a dozen homeless camps found in the area. Gratefully, “all residents of the homeless camps on the beach were able to evacuate. There were no injuries reported, among fire officials or community members,” according to the report, which counted approximately 25 people, with close to 10 camps on the beach.
Thankfully, fast-acting crews had the blaze under control in 85 minutes; with Oatman Fire arriving first on the scene a little after 10pm. “We were getting back into town and happened to look over and see it,” said Oatman Fire Chief Gary Lambertson, a Lake Havasu City resident. “Our crew is all wildland, that’s what we do. We saw it and came over here. Nobody was here yet. Havasu came shortly behind us and we assisted where we could with them.” Lambertson said as flames reached 20 feet in the air, he and his crew helped evacuate some of the residents of the homeless camps.
Thus far, a cause for the fire has yet to be determined, with the Arizona Department of Forestry currently cleaning up the scene as of Sunday afternoon. As of this writing, images of the damage show damage stretching from Body Beach itself north, charring the hills surrounding. Gratefully, nobody was injured and with some help from Mother Nature, the plantlife can return quickly.
