Over 1,000 tires wash ashore at Holden Beach after storm

HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - A member of the community noticed something out of the ordinary walking along Holden Beach after Sunday’s storm.

Thousands of tires washed ashore, once belonging to an artificial reef likely built in the 1970s.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries used to make the reefs for marine life, something they stopped doing in the 1980s.

Luckily, the tires aren’t harmful to animals, but they’re more of a nuisance for residents when they wash ashore.

“Our issue with them is they actually break loose and wash ashore, and that can kind of create a safety issue,” Patricia Smith, communications director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, said.

Mayor of Holden Beach Alan Holden says he’s never seen this many tires wash ashore.

“It’s unusual to have this many. As best as I can remember, this is the most we’ve ever had,” he said.

On Tuesday, a small crew from the state cleaned up the beach and cleared it of the tires within a few hours, leaving Holden Beach good as new and tire free.

“They have been picked up today and they are gone thanks to the Marine Fisheries working in conjunction with us. Thank goodness its behind us and the storm damage was very little,” Holden continued.

The town of Holden Beach announced the clean-up plans on Facebook.

As of Tuesday, all tires have been removed from the beach. They are being taken to a landfill to be properly disposed of.

However, Mayor Holden said residents and visitors should not be surprised if they see any more tires wash up.

The photo obtained by WECT was submitted by Diana Coca.