Counter-terrorism police also questioned a UK national, days after five others were arrested and released on bail.
Published On 1 Oct 20261 Oct 2026
A man with dual UK-Iranian citizenship has been arrested in connection with an alleged security incident at an airbase in southwest England over the weekend.
British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday that a “27-year-old man, a dual UK/Iranian national, was arrested” in central London.
He was detained “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts” as part of an investigation into the events Sunday near RAF Fairford.
A second man, 26 – a UK national – was also “questioned under caution”, the police statement added.
The RAF base 160km west of London has been used by US bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which began in February.
On Sunday, five men, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and “terrorism” over the incident at RAF Fairford. They have since been released on bail.
“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police, said in a statement.
“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”
Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran played a role in an alleged security incident.
Iran, however, strongly denied any involvement in the incident and the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, hit back at Burnham’s allegations.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK’s security services have “strong indications” of Iranian involvement in the incident at a British Royal Air Force (RAF) station near Fairford this week in which five men were arrested before they were released on bail.
The five British men were spotted near the airbase and arrested on Sunday on suspicion of “terrorism” and explosives offences, before they were released.
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The United States has used the British base to carry out operations in various conflicts, including to deploy bombers in its war against Iran.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement with the airbase incident, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying British authorities are “barking up the wrong tree”.
So, what do we know about the incident, and is there evidence Iran played a role?
What happened at the airbase?
Authorities were alerted to suspicious activity near the base early Sunday morning, including three vans parked oddly and a group of hooded, masked men.
Police responded and arrested five British men in their early 20s in the nearby Whelford area, saying they were suspected of explosives offences. Counter Terrorism police later took over the probe and said the men were suspected of preparing “a terrorist act”.
The suspects were released on bail Monday, but remain subject to “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others,” according to the United Kingdom’s head of counter terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor.
On Tuesday, after three days of investigations, including using a bomb disposal team, police said they had found no explosives in the vehicles that were parked the near the base, but had retrieved a “quantity of petrol”.
Who is linking the incident to Iran, and have they cited evidence?
Officials in the UK, the US and Israel have all pointed to Iran but offered no details.
Burnham on Wednesday spoke of “strong indications” of Iran’s involvement and said an “ongoing, complex and serious police investigation” is continuing.
However, the prime minister did not give any details on what the suspects were planning or why the UK thinks Iran was involved, saying only that he would “update people more in due course”.
In the US, President Donald Trump said the case “might be” Iran-linked and that the US had been keeping tabs on the suspects “for a long time”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the case “clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor”, without naming a specific state.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had forewarned the UK about a potential “Iranian-sponsored attack”.
How has Iran responded?
Iran has firmly denied involvement.
In a statement on Monday, Iran’s embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” any attempts to link Iran to the individuals arrested near the airbase.
It said the spread of such “fabricated speculations” fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” and that Iran reserves the right to “take appropriate legal measures”.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the UK was “barking up the wrong tree” by pointing to potential Iranian involvement.
Why has the UK released the suspects on bail?
It is unclear. Under British “counterterrorism law”, police can hold suspects for up to two weeks before charging them. However, if authorities find little evidence to support their initial suspicion of “terrorism”, they would have far less time – usually 24 to 36 hours, said Chris Phillips, a former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office.
“If it’s not an actual terrorist attack, then the police don’t have anywhere near as long to keep them in custody,” said Phillips. “I think the police just need more time to do their enquiries.”
Andrew Silke, professor of criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the suspects could have also been released on bail while under suspicion of “terrorism” if “authorities feel relatively confident that these individuals do not pose an imminent danger of either carrying out or organising a terrorist attack”, such as if they had “peripheral” or “unknowing involvement”.
Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow in international relations and security at Loughborough University and a former senior Royal Air Force officer, said the bail release does not necessarily indicate that the “Iranian-involvement hypothesis has been rejected” but it does mean “police have judged that these individuals did not present any immediate danger”.
Taylor, the head of counter terrorism policing, said the men’s release on bail was an “investigative decision” based on “experience and careful considerations of policing powers.” He stressed that the men are bound by “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others” as the investigation into them continues.
But their release drew backlash in the US from Trump, who said British authorities “should not have done that”.
“How do you give bail to a terrorist?” Trump asked.
Iran’s Araghchi appeared to suggest that the suspects’ release supported Iran’s position that it was not involved.
“I can confirm Iran’s belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all,” wrote Araghchi in a post on X.
What questions about the case are still unanswered?
Questions remain about the circumstances in which authorities were initially alerted to suspicious activity near the base, the extent to which they believe the suspects are linked to Iran and what the suspects may have been planning.
According to the BBC, police received two early-morning calls on Sunday regarding suspicious vehicles near the base, the first of which the media understands was made by one of the suspects themselves.
The Times of London reported that police are looking into the suspect’s motives for making such a call, including “whether he got cold feet or whether it was part of the plan”.
Authorities are also probing whether the incident was a form of “surveillance, a ‘dry run’ to test security or a stunt to send a message to the British government”, reported The Times.
Meanwhile, police have suggested they are looking into whether the suspects could have been unwittingly acting on Iran’s behalf.
In an updated briefing on Tuesday, Taylor said officials were examining whether the activity could have been “committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”.
He also spoke more generally about the “increasing breadth and complexity” of threats facing the UK, saying threats often emerge first as small-scale criminal activity, “committed by individuals whose primary aim is not terrorism but a quick financial gain”.
Phillips told Al Jazeera he believes the suspects could have been recruited online to carry out some type of malicious activity that falls short of a “terrorist attack”.
“It sounds as though these people have been paid online to do some naughty work”, such as “setting fire to something”, said Phillips.
He said both Russia and Iran have allegedly paid “stooges” to carry out such acts in recent years. “At first glance now, it seems that that may be the case, but time will tell,” Phillips added.
Royal Holloway’s Silke also said he believes the evidence suggests “a proxy explanation”.
“Certainly, there have been recent cases in Europe where individuals have been used unwittingly as proxies by foreign governments to carry out activities which have a hostile intent,” he said. “The UK authorities in this case may have assessed that something similar had happened here, and that the individuals involved had no inherent terrorist motivation themselves, but had been caught up unintentionally in a larger plot.”
Has Iran previously been accused of plots in the UK?
Yes. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in October 2025 that the agency had tracked “more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” in the UK within a year.
McCallum alleged that Iran, along with Russia, has resorted to “ugly methods,” such as “surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence”.
British Security Minister Dan Jarvis has said Iran often uses criminal proxies to “obfuscate” its involvement in attacks, which have targeted Iranian dissidents and Jewish and Israeli people in the country.
In March this year, British police arrested four people on suspicion of helping Iran spy on the local Jewish community. The month after, police said they were probing possible Iran links to a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London.
In June, two Romanian men whom British prosecutors said had acted as proxies for Iran’s government were handed lengthy jail terms for stabbing a British journalist of Iranian origin who wrote for an Iranian media outlet critical of Iran’s government.
Iran’s government has repeatedly denied involvement in any illegal plots or attacks on British.
If there’s one positive to come out of the controversial play and video from Saturday’s USC vs. Oregon football game during which Oregon quarterback Dante Moore suffered a concussion after a late hit by USC’s Desman Stephens, it’s that high school football coaches are using it as a teachable moment on how not to react after a player is injured.
Stephens received a one-game suspension from USC after he was seen celebrating when hitting Moore in the head as he gave himself up on a slide to end a running play.
Whittier coach Lorenzo Hernandez said he reminded his players, “You’re always in someone’s lens.”
“You have to be compassionate about someone being injured,” he said.
St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said there were plenty of lessons to point out to his players.
Negro said in a text, “As mentors, educators, and coaches we are constantly using moments like this to educate our players on how not to be. Football is a small fraternity and regardless of rivalries or spirited competitions we have to respect the health and safety of our opponents. Celebrating in a moment like that is disheartening and would never be tolerated here at Bosco.
“It wasn’t just the Dante Moore situation. It was also the situation from the Texas vs Tennessee game, too, with the unnecessary antics that draw penalties.
“We have to do better in making our kids realize there is a proper way to conduct yourself in an athletic contest. Personal character is revealed in these moments so choose wisely when you plan your actions after you make a good play.”
Washington’s top diplomat calls the suspected plot ‘a very serious situation’ after five were arrested over the weekend.
Published On 29 Sep 202629 Sep 2026
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a “foreign actor” was involved in a suspected bomb plot near an airbase in the United Kingdom used by the US military.
Police arrested five men, all British nationals from London, in their early to mid-20s, on Sunday after being alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses US bombers flying missions against Iran.
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The counterterrorism police said on Monday they were investigating whether individuals were acting for a foreign state in an apparent plot to attack the airbase. They later said the suspects would be released on bail.
Commenting on the suspected plot and arrests on the Hannity programme on Fox News late on Monday, Rubio said, “What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation.”
“It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor. I won’t get into great detail about that yet,” he added.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had said in July the Fairford base was a legitimate target.
Iran’s embassy in London said in a statement on Monday it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” that it was involved, which it said would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in the UK.
Trump said on Sunday the UK and the US had had the suspects “under investigation” for a while and alleged, “They were looking to do big damage to our fort.”
After hearing news that suspects were being released on bail, Trump said on Monday the case “might be” linked to Iran but declined to elaborate.
US bombers
The UK gave the US permission in March to use Fairford for “specific defensive operations into Iran” to destroy Iranian missiles at source.
US bombers and other planes have since been seen taking off and landing at the base – the only one on the British mainland used for this purpose.
Residents in the rural Cotswolds area surrounding Fairford said the site, which hosts a range of US military equipment and personnel, had seen increased activity and security in recent months.
Authorities evacuated about 85 households from a nearby village early on Sunday, but they were allowed to return home the next day.
Tehran has previously warned London against allowing its bases to be used by the US in operations against Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused London of “putting British lives in danger” by allowing the bases to be used “for aggression against Iran”.
“Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice is asking for privacy for her daughter Milania Guidice after an incident at the airport resulted in police intervention.
On Wednesday, Tampa International Airport police were called to step in when Milania, 20, reportedly became emotional and ran away from her reality star mom, older sister, Gia Giudice, and a counselor traveling with the family. Police bodycam footage, obtained by TMZ, revealed the family was fighting over a recent health scare involving Milania.
In the video, the family is in an elevator with police, and Teresa is heard explaining that her daughter “had fentanyl in her system” and that she wants to save her daughter’s life. “You’re reckless,” Teresa says to Milania. “After you get help, you never have to speak to me again.”
Milania retorted that she “was laced” and said, “I go to college.” Milania, who attends the University of Tampa, then asked if she was going to be placed “back in the psych ward.” Earlier in the clip, a police officer is heard explaining that Milania had been released from a Baker Act facility and was being transported to a rehabilitation facility.
“As a mother, there is nothing more important to me than the health, safety, and well-being of my children,” Teresa wrote in a statement on Instagram on Monday. “The past few months have been incredibly difficult for our family, and I feel it is important to say something while also protecting my daughter during an extremely vulnerable time in her life.
“Milania has experienced tremendous heartbreak and significant psychological trauma after losing two of her best friends. Grief affects everyone differently, and watching your child try to process that kind of loss is something no parent can ever truly prepare for.”
In July, Milania’s best friend, Victoria Zardoya, died on a weekend trip to Tampa, during which the 20-year-old sustained fatal injuries when she fell while exploring the ruins of Ft. Dade from the Spanish-American War with a group of friends.
It’s unclear who the second friend is.
“Right now, my only focus is my daughter — making sure she is surrounded by love, family, support, and the care she needs,” Teresa’s statement continued. “I understand that because our family has lived much of our lives in the public eye, there will naturally be questions and speculation. But Milania is my daughter before she is anything else. She is a young woman going through an incredibly difficult and deeply personal time, and she deserves the opportunity to heal without every moment of her pain being analyzed publicly.
“I am asking, from one mother to another, and from one family to all of you, to please show Milania compassion and kindness and allow her the privacy she needs right now,” the statement concluded.
In May, Milania was arrested and charged with simple assault after an incident at the New Jersey home of Teresa and Luis “Louie” Ruelas, Milania’s stepdad. Milania allegedly punched someone in the forehead, who was referred to in court by the initials “LR.”
If found guilty, she faces up to six months in jail, probation and a $500 fine. Her next hearing is Tuesday.
A local resident told the BBC she alerted the police to suspicious activity near the base early on Sunday.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she initially called the Ministry of Defence (MoD) police but nobody answered, and then called 999. She said she had seen three parked vans and a group of men wearing masks.
The MoD declined to comment.
Several residents said they had been led from their homes in the early hours and evacuated to a leisure centre.
Julian Tudsbury said he was woken up at 07:00 by police banging on his door in Whelford, where 85 households were advised to evacuate.
“There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident, said he couldn’t elaborate,” he said.
He said another local had seen three vehicles making their way to the base and called the police “straight away”.
Arsenal will contact refereeing body Pro Ref over the incident in which Ezri Konsa conceded a penalty in Saturday’s win over Sunderland.
Konsa and Black Cats defender Dan Ballard were involved in a physical exchange inside the penalty area in which the Arsenal defender was adjudged to have fouled the Sunderland player for excessive holding.
After the game Gunners manager Mikel Arteta criticised the decision, and it is understood the Premier League champions will hold talks with the professional referee’s body for an explanation as to why the penalty was awarded.
It is understood Arsenal are keen to avoid major refereeing decisions impacting on results and want clarity over how referee John Brooks came to his decision.
Brooks initially awarded Sunderland the spot-kick on the field, and the decision was backed up by the video assistant referee (VAR).
“The referee’s call of penalty to Sunderland for a holding offence by Konsa on Ballard was checked and confirmed by VAR,” read a statement published by the Premier League Match Centre.
But after the game Arteta said: “This is not acceptable at this level.
“I watched it 20 times and I cannot find a way to understand how they think to give a penalty in that situation, or the way the VAR has to intervene.
“So I don’t know what to think. I’m sad that we have to discuss this after such a beautiful game, that at this level has the gravity of that. Because that changes the course of the season and it can cost you the championship.
“At this level, with all the work we put in, this cannot happen.”
Match of the Day pundits Ashley Williams and Thomas Frank both said Sunderland should not have been awarded a penalty, claiming that Arsenal should have had a free-kick.
“I think he’s got it completely wrong,” said Williams. “It’s almost like a perfect hip toss in judo [from Ballard]. In no way is it a penalty.”
Last week, Miami authorities identified the five people who died as Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.
Five others were also injured.
“Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives,” 21 Air chief executive Keith Winters previously said.
“Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the appropriate authorities, and ensuring that accurate and verified information is communicated as it becomes available,” he added.
NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called the crash site a scene of “utter devastation”.
The safety board’s investigators have recovered the flight recorders to analyse the conditions leading up to the crash.
Investigators released details that a pilot onboard the cargo plane noted that it was going too fast before it overshot the runway, the NTSB said in the early stages of investigation.
It said that one of the pilots warned the other pilot multiple times about “the aircraft’s excessive speed” but noted “there was not a consistent verbal response”, even as an altitude alarm sounded.
There were other electronic warnings designed to alert the pilots to danger while landing, investigators reported.
WAUSAU, Wis. — U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for Wisconsin governor, wiped away tears and laughed while sharing how thankful he was Sunday to survive a harrowing late-night emergency landing into a lake of the small plane he was riding in.
The pilot “said we are going down,” Tiffany told reporters at a downtown Wausau firehouse. “‘Pull your seat belt tight.’ I gave it a yank and pulled it good and tight. It was probably about 10 seconds later … we hit the water.”
Tiffany said he and the pilot, Leonard Boltz, remained on top of the plane in Lake Wausau until it began sinking. They decided on swimming to shore. He said they swam about 100 to 150 feet until they reached water shallow enough to stand in.
“We’re really fortunate that God was looking after us last night,” said Tiffany, 68.
The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the emergency landing happened just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Boltz called 911 after the pair got out of the plane. They were rescued by emergency responders in a fire department airboat just after 9 p.m.
“The gravity of this is probably just hitting me at this point,” Tiffany said Sunday. “We were making jokes every step of the way last night. Though we knew it was a serious situation, we tried to keep it light through the whole thing.”
David Crowley, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, wished Tiffany a “quick recovery” in a post on X and lauded the “heroism of the pilot.”
Tiffany said he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the single-engine, four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport.
Tiffany said he had a cut above his right eye that required 12 stitches. Boltz, who Tiffany said is a retired Air Force pilot, also suffered cuts and received four stitches.
Tiffany said the incident will not affect his gubernatorial campaign.
A no-wake buoy was placed near the plane, which remained in the lake, and boaters were asked to avoid the area until the aircraft can be removed, the sheriff’s office said.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said the agency would investigate the incident. A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson said that agency is waiting for the FAA to assess the plane as to whether the damage was substantial enough for it to get involved.
SAN DIEGO — As dusk approached San Diego’s seaside enclave of Ocean Beach, its Sunset Cliffs bustled on a recent Friday evening.
Two engaged couples posed for wedding photos in between joggers, dog walkers and sightseers who clamored around Osprey Street to enjoy the day’s majestic sunset.
It was a deceptively idyllic setting for what authorities say is continued lawbreaking and peril, which authorities just can’t seem to quash.
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The lawbreakers were gathered this day on a cliff and a nearby arch, a crowd of around 50 young people — 14- to 20-year-olds, mostly males. Buoyed by a youthful sense of invincibility, they dared one another to leap, waiting for another to move, like emperor penguin chicks before a first arctic plunge.
After a few minutes, there was a dive off the arch, followed by a cannonball from the next person, a backflip from a third and then other more spectacular and daring stunts from the flock.
No one was injured that day, but that hasn’t always been the case.
People jump into the water at Sunset Cliffs. San Diego officials urge visitors to avoid jumping, but that doesn’t stop tourists and thrill-seekers.
At least three individuals were rescued after suffering injuries this summer at Sunset Cliffs, leading police to ramp up enforcement as locals debate the need for safety versus the merits of youthful rites of passage.
California dreaming
Back home in Iowa, Marcus English said he’d probably be hosting bonfires or hitting up local pools in mid- to late August. Instead, the 17-year-old was at the cliffs enjoying his last few days off before beginning his senior year of high school.
“There are some places to jump, some lakes in Iowa,” he said, “but nothing like this.”
English wangled a stop during a weeklong family trip to California that included national park visits to stop by Sunset Cliffs, which he saw on social media.
The vistas and cool breezes represented quintessential California to the Midwesterner, equal parts “what I saw on Instagram and a movie.”
English spread out his arms, squatted and then leaped before taking a roughly 15-foot plunge from the arch into the shallow waters. He jumped multiple times on consecutive days.
“It’s just so freeing,” he said of his leaps. “There’s nothing like it.”
‘Hopefully I can walk again’
Jumping happens at several places throughout the cliffs.
The most common launch point is from the arch, with drops ranging from 15 to 20 feet depending on the water level, said a San Diego Police Department spokesperson.
The more exotic and dangerous plunges happen from the adjacent cliffs, with youngsters jumping from 20 to 40 feet, and some as much as 50 feet.
What makes the latter leap more treacherous is a rock ledge that juts out about 10 to 15 feet from the cliffs. Jumpers have little room to run and gain momentum (unlike at the arch) and must clear that formation before hitting the water.
This summer’s safety debate reached a fever pitch in late July. A 17-year-old jumper, according to social media footage, struck the ledge with his backside and crashed into the water.
For his part, the unnamed 17-year-old said in a since-deleted social media post that he suffered six fractured vertebrae and a badly bruised tailbone and needed nine stitches in his foot. The Times could not independently reach him.
Spectators watch people jump into the water from the arch at Sunset Cliffs.
“For everyone who wants to tell me I’m an idiot for doing that, trust me, I’m aware,” he said. “Hopefully I can walk again, but I’m just trying to take it slow.”
Sunset Cliffs have attracted visitors and tragedies
Injuries and deaths from jumping at the cliffs date to the 19th century, San Diego Reader noted earlier this year.
A schoolboy named Waldham slipped off the cliffs after a scrum with friends and broke his arm in 1881. One of the earliest deaths came in 1926, when a 3-year-old wandered from his home on Narragansett Avenue and fell to his demise.
Police and lifeguards were unsure as to the most recent jumping fatality, with one official pointing to the 2019 death of 15-year-old Anthony Womack, a National City resident.
Brook Hjelm, the mother of 23-year-old Brian Wilson, who died swimming at Sunset Cliffs in 2015, told the local CBS station she would like to see photos of those who had died posted along with danger signs in the area. “Put signs up of our young men and women that we lost,” Hjelm said. “Let them see the face of something that associates them with what truly is at stake.”
Tracking the action
Attention surrounding Sunset Cliffs injuries ebbs and flows much like the current, according to Frank Gormlie, a longtime San Diego County resident who tracked incidents more than a decade ago.
Gormlie, the founder and editor of Ocean Beach’s online newspaper, OB Rag, scoured media archives and spoke with residents.
“It had gotten so bad that I wanted to chronicle what was going on,” Gormlie said.
His research documented 11 deaths and dozens of injuries during that time span. Those statistics came from jumps, along with vehicular, climbing and health incidents.
Some incidents had little to do with jumping, such a surfer smashing into the rocks. But a 43-year-old woman slipped and fell to her death in 2015, while two jumpers needed crane-assisted rescues after suffering serious injuries, according to Gormlie.
The Sunset Cliffs siren’s song
“People have been visiting the Sunset Cliffs for years because it has a beauty that shocks,” Gormlie said. “But I think social media has found its way to the next generation of adventure seekers who don’t know about the dangers.”
The Sunset Cliffs area is Instagram-ready, and social media has drawn some visitors looking to brave the leap.
Gormlie said swimming and diving are local rites of passage. He noted that Ocean Beach residents commonly “shoot the OB pier” — surfing under that the town’s pier — a risky stunt that Gormlie did as an 18-year-old before shipping off for college.
Gormlie jumped from the cliffs in 2014, shortly after turning 65.
He wrote about his experience through an anonymous post, saying he “did it for all those guys and women my age who drive by every day and secretly wish they could jump off too.”
All rescues involved San Diego Fire-Rescue Department lifeguards and personnel. The department shares jurisdiction of Sunset Cliffs with the San Diego Police Department and rangers with the city Department of Parks and Recreation, said Candace Hadley, Fire-Rescue public information officer.
Hadley wanted to remind potential jumpers that the act of leaping from the cliffs violates a San Diego municipal code and could result in fines of $100 or more. Frequent fliers could be smacked with $1,000 fines.
“Cliff jumping isn’t just illegal in San Diego, it’s extremely dangerous,” Hadley said. “One misstep could lead to a life-altering injury or worse.”
Her office tends to offer education on the dangers of jumping, she said, while San Diego police dealout penalties.
The problem of jumpers at Sunset Cliffs has been part of achallenging summer for the lifeguards, who have made 5,480 rescues across the 17 miles of San Diego coastline they patrol from June 1 to Sept. 1. Extreme heat has driven more people to the beach, and high surf fueled by Pacific tropical storms has added to the dangers.
The rescues have mostly been of swimmers not properly judging the strong currents. In a normal year, Hadley said, the lifeguards make about 7,500 to 8,000 rescues.
Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh, San Diego police public information officer, said his department had issued more than 50 citations at Sunset Cliffs and dispensed about 350 warnings, written and oral, since mid-June.
But he said the department is short-handed, and increasing enforcement permanently is not feasible.
“There are warning signs all over the cliffs noting the dangers, but people still jump,” Poorsaleh said. “Mix in social media — which is drawing in tourists from all over the country — and a young person’s feeling of invincibility and there’s a chance for trouble.”
Visitors have been jumping at the Ocean Beach location for decades. One local said he jumped after turning 65, calling it “irresistible.”
San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, who represents Ocean Beach, recently issued a statement reminding visitors “to prioritize safety and not jump from the cliffs.”
“The cliffs can be unpredictable,” she said, “and changing tides, strong currents, rough surf, and hidden rocks can quickly create life-threatening conditions.”
A longtime local tradition
Lyne Miller has lived all her life in Ocean Beach, where saltwater runs in locals’ veins and it’s not uncommon to see residents toting surfboard as they ride a bike or golf cart to the beach.
From a young age, Miller, 80, said she promised her mom that she “would never jump.”
Miller says the number of teens arriving at the beach, likely driven by social media, “is more than ever.”
But she acknowledged that locals had been jumping at Sunset Cliffs since at least the 1950s in surf-centric Ocean Beach.
“This is a playground for those who love the water, who love the ocean,” she said. “I hope if there’s a crackdown on jumping, it’s not harsh.
“I don’t necessarily feel negative about the jumpers,” she added. “I just wish they would be smarter and jump from safer spots at better times.”
