REDONDO BEACH — Thousands of music lovers filed peacefully, but disappointedly, out of the Seaside Lagoon BeachLife Festival grounds late Sunday afternoon as high winds buffeted the coast and the music event was put on pause for at least an hour.
The call to evacuate the outdoor Redondo Beach concert site came at about 5 p.m., said Redondo Beach Police Sgt. Mark Valdivia.
An evacuation order put on hold Day Three of Beachlife Festival on May 5, 2024. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)
“We’ve asked everyone to evacuate for at least an hour while we assess the situation,” Valdivia said.
A wind advisory was in effect along the beach cities until 9 p.m. on Sunday, with wind speeds around 15 to 30 mph, and gusts up to 40 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard.
The action was initially called “a one-hour evacuation” with plans to call ticketholders back via social media, said Moreno, when the site was deemed safe.
As of 6:35 p.m., no announcement had been made about the status of the festival.
The winds grew stronger as Sunday went on — and really started picking up in the late afternoon, especially close to shore, at the LowTide stage where the longtime rock act ZZ Top was performing.
About 20 minutes after the band launched into its set, frontman Billy Gibbons, with his signature beard flapping in the gusts, exclaimed: “Can someone turn the fan down?”
At about 5:25 p.m., the band fled from the stage.
Thousands of fans soon followed suit, calmly flowing out of the festival grounds.
Dan and Nicole Brozost from Manhattan Beach had just arrived at BeachLife when the site was evacuated. They had not attended the prior two days and were on hand specifically to see the Trey Anastasio Band at 6:30 p.m. and My Morning Jacket at 7:50 p.m.
“We’re disappointed, but of course we understand safety comes first, ” Dan Brozost said.
This is breaking news, watch for updates.
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