





Authorities have closed several beaches in Santa Barbara County after a deadly shark attack Friday morning near the coastal town of Surf.

Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base told The Times that they have closed Surf, Wall and Minuteman beaches for 72 hours due to the attack.

[Updated at 11:56 p.m.: A base spokesman said the Santa Barbara County coroner's investigators are at the beach and that the investigation is being handled in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.]

The Santa Maria Times reported that a body surfer was fatally bitten by a shark. The paper said the body surfer was not connected with the military base.

Surf is located north of Santa Barbara and west of Lompoc on the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

-- Andrew Blankstein