Fort Lauderdale Beach back open after sticky tar clears

Areas of Fort Lauderdale Beach that were closed over the weekend due to globs of tar are back open.

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Nearly two miles of Fort Lauderdale Beach, from the port up to Riomar Street, was shut down Saturday after folks reported the sticky patches of oil on the shore and in the sand.

By air and by sea, the U.S. Coast Guard said it scoured the coastline amid concerns of a spill, but did not find a source for the tar balls, as they’re called.

The Coast Guard says they can be naturally occurring, or can be the result of off-shore spills — oil combining with seawater and other debris and washing ashore.

The city says its parks department cleaned and raked, like they normally do, along the shoreline and in the sand, and re-opened the beach.

“I heard about the oil, I didn’t see any,” beachgoer Asya Scher said Monday. “The weather was perfect, lovely, we enjoyed it.”