Outer Banks town pleads for tourists to stop leaving huge, dangerous holes in beach

Playing in the sand is a tradition at any beach, but some Outer Banks tourists are taking things too far by creating large pits that qualify as death traps.

One such hole was found March 18 in Kill Devil Hills and measured at about 9 feet wide and 4 feet deep, according to the Kill Devil Hills Department in North Carolina.

Another, discovered March 17, was 5 feet deep, officials said.

“Please, please we beg you, if you must dig, be considerate and fill it back in!” the fire department wrote on Facebook.

“Many people think it’s fun and do not think about the consequences of their actions. Leaving a large hole like this is extremely dangerous to those walking on the beach, first responders and turtles!”

It’s in the dark that such pits are at their most dangerous, experts say. The holes are tougher to see, sometimes fill with several feet of water and can even result in cave-ins.

It often falls to the fire department to fill in the holes found in Kill Devil Hills’s beaches, which can delay response to emergencies, officials said.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore issued a similar warning in 2019, when it found an abandoned trench 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide near Avon.

“Leaving such a large hole in the beach can lead to serious visitor injuries, damage to emergency response vehicles, delays in responding to swimming-related emergencies, and could prevent sea turtle hatchlings from making it safely to the ocean,” the National Park Service wrote on Facebook.

This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 10:31 AM.