Earl's high surf puts brakes on beach driving

The rough surf from Hurricane Earl is creating a nightmare along the Volusia County coast.

It’s forcing beachgoers to do what people in other counties have to do: carry their things from their cars to the water's edge.

Meanwhile, parking areas around the beaches quickly filled up.

It gave News 13 a sneak peek into what would happen if beach driving and beach parking was ever abolished in Volusia County.

“You know, I wouldn't even chance going out in the next couple of days just because of the big surf and the rip currents,” said Capt. Scott Petersohn from the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

While the waves along the coast of New Smyrna Beach are impressive, they are causing headaches for those who like to drive up and down the sand.

No one likes to tote a surfboard any long distance.

While most people are staying out of the water, these waves do bring the people out.

“We just come down to see, we come down every time the waves get high, just to see them,” said Jake Hintz from Samsula.

Hintz isn't alone. The parking lot on Flagler Avenue is packed and for good reason.

Under normal circumstances at high tide, the entry points would shut down for a few hours, but the vehicles already on the sand would be able to stay.

Obviously, these are not normal circumstances.

The high surf forced the cars off the county beaches just before noon.

If not, many of them would be stranded and stuck in the rising water.

It made finding a parking spot in the lot that much more difficult.

“I didn't even think the beach would be that crowded, and I expected to go on the beach but couldn't so I came to find a parking spot and it took forever,” said Kelly Snowden from DeLand.

“I knew there'd be a lot of people here but you know, people ain't staying long. They'll just get on with it, you know,” Hintz said.

The county wasn't charging to drive on the beach. However, many off-beach parking spots were spoken for just as they were forced off.

The waves will die down in the next couple of days, allowing more people to get into the water. But the rip current risk will remain for at least the next week to 10 days.

Volusia County will have 80 lifeguard towers open this Labor Day weekend, which is approximately 20 more than usual.