A Cape Cod harbormaster has a dire warning as New Englanders prepare to head to the beach this Labor Day weekend.
"It is time for beachgoers to change their behavior or something terrible is going to happen," the Orleans harbormaster wrote on Facebook. "Please be safe."
"I think people have become complacent and are not heeding the regular warnings we are doing" Orleans Fire Chief Anthony Pike said Thursday. "We can't manage the wildlife, we just have to make sure, we just have to get out the appropriate safety messages."
The warning comes after several close encounters, and after a New York doctor was bitten by a shark in Truro.
"We are pretty chill about the sharks," Kathy Flanigan said. "We are OK, we don't let it ruin our vacation."
Flanigan, visiting from New Jersey, said her family tries not to worry about what's in the water.
"We have our one week up here every year," she said. "We try and make the best of it."
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Others at the beach Thursday were more guarded.
"It's like being in a big city be aware of your surroundings," JoAnn Piscillo said. "If you don't want to get bit by a shark, be aware of your surroundings."
"We can't fight against nature when nature fights back," Lars Wigemark said.
