NORFOLK, Va. — Charred plants and trash are all that’s left in the sand dunes on the beach access point on First Bay Street in Ocean View.
Samantha Lindtner lives in one of the houses just in front of the sand dune. She noticed the blackened sand when she walked her dog on Sunday night.
"There was like stacks of loose-leaf paper that just had charred edges and they were buried in the sand. [There were] melted water bottles too," said Lindter. "There was a couple melted and sandy lighter fluid bottles. The whole piece of the dune was charred.”
The burned seagrasses reached just feet away from homes that faced the water.
"Every time we walk through that charred beach access we're just going to see the charred remains from all those plants,” said Lindtner.
The fire destroyed the natural habitat for animals.
“There are a lot of animals that live out there. It's just less space for them to live, and it could have been disastrous,” said Lindtner.
Now Lindtner is calling for fire investigators to look into what caused the fire that could have destroyed much of Ocean View.
“I mean it's very concerning to me because we live right there. We live in one of those buildings that's right beside the beach access. With the houses being so close together, it just takes one thing, and then you've got the great Ocean View fire that wrecked everything,” said Lindtner.