City leaders: If you're coming to Jacksonville Beach to watch the Blue Angels, stay off the dunes

In four days, thousands of people will gather on Jacksonville Beach to watch the world famous Navy Blue Angels in the sky.

But after Hurricane Matthew badly battered Northeast Florida’s beaches, leaders are concerned the large crowds will continue to damage what’s left of the dunes.

City leaders want people to come out to the beaches but they’re putting new protective measures in place.

They definitely don’t want people to be deterred from coming to the show, but they do want them to be deterred from walking all over the dunes.

There are areas with no dunes left. Jacksonville Beach leaders said this year it’s more important than ever to make sure people stay off the dunes.

City workers were busy blocking off walkovers in Jacksonville Beach on Tuesday and putting up “do not enter by police order” signs to keep people from entering certain walkovers.

But Mayor Charlie Latham said they will have some walkovers open for this weekend’s Sea and Sky Spectacular.

“We're asking people not to walk through the dunes but walk through the first available crossover if you're gonna go out on the actual beach,” Latham said.

Every year, tens of thousands of people scour the beach for the perfect spot to watch the Blue Angels perform. But this year, there will be some changes.

“There will be a large amount of snow fencing around the sand dune area,” said Jacksonville Beach Police Department Sgt. Tommy Crumley.

On Tuesday, our camera rolled as people walked right through the dunes, exactly what Latham said he’s concerned about.

“We've got a really dangerous potential in our area, with these dunes, what's left of them are very important,” Latham said.

Some parking lots are also still blocked off with mounds of sand in them. The city said it’s working on clearing them out in time for Saturday's show.

But despite the damage left by Hurricane Matthew, the city says it’s ready.

“Definitely open for business we look forward to seeing everybody this weekend,” Crumley said.

There’s also some equipment still on the beach because of the renourishment project, but the city said the workers are expected to be in Neptune Beach by the time the show rolls around.

Cox Media Group