BURLINGTON — Massive crowds gathered at Burlington’s North Beach over the weekend, basking in sunny weather that pushed the temperatures into the 70s.
Photos of the crowds caused gasps on social media from people concerned about Covid-19 social distancing. But officials are saying there’s not much they could have done to stop the assembly.
On Saturday, between 2,000 and 3,000 people were at the beach, most of them college-aged, according to Gary Derr, UVM’s vice president for operations and public safety.
Derr said campus police do not have jurisdiction at North Beach, and it would have been the Burlington Police Department’s responsibility if a decision were made to step in and break up the crowds.
“Needless to say, it was deeply troubling and discouraging to see what was going on, and I think it’s really important to note that, while we can hold students accountable for their actions off campus, in this situation, we couldn’t step in unless asked to do so by BPD,” Derr said.
However, Mayor Miro Weinberger said all that could have really been enforced was the “Green and Gold Promise” that all UVM students signed at the beginning of the school year, agreeing to follow Covid-19 precautions or risk suspension and fines from the university.
“The numbers were great enough on Saturday that it did cause some discomfort and questions as to whether there could be so many people that there could be concerns about transmission, but in general, we are glad to see people outside and doing outdoor activities. We encourage them,” Weinberger said Monday at a press conference.
Weinberger said officials with the city and the university communicated about the crowd, and ultimately a cautionary message was sent to students on Saturday, reminding them to take precautions in light of the pandemic.
“Whether there’s a need for more of it at this point, you know, we’re making very regular contact with the colleges and making adjustments accordingly,” Weinberger said.
Derr said UVM is going through video footage from the beach, trying to identify students who were involved.
Weinberger said the cautionary message, and a change in the weather, led to significantly smaller crowds at the beach Sunday.
“Just because the end is in sight doesn’t mean that people can let up and stop taking the precautions, especially if they’ve not yet been vaccinated,” Weinberger said. “So in that spirit, again, we are reminding folks we’re in a key moment here and stay vigilant in the coming weeks.”
Robert Plante, spokesperson for the Burlington Fire Department, estimated that between 90 and 100 fires were kindled on the beach during the weekend, “certainly an uptick from what we would normally find.”
“What’s occurring is, as soon as our folks leave, I think fires are getting restarted. We just don’t have resources to run to every single one of those every single time,” Plante said.
Plante said Burlington’s police, fire, and parks and recreation departments are working together on devising a different approach to fires on the beach, but that plan is still in its infancy.
“It does tie up a lot of our resources for a great length of time. It’s nice out and people want to be out,” Plante said, “but each one of these incidents where somebody has made a phone call means we have to use our resources to send somebody out to the beach to take a look.”
