Officials reopen Hawaii beach after suspicious item examined
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Honolulu police have reopened a popular beach that was evacuated after the discovery of a suspicious item in the water that turned out to be a flare, Hawaii News Now reports.
The news service says that Hanauma Bay beach was cleared by authorities after a canister washed ashore and was found around 10:40 a.m.
The news service says a lifeguard found it during safety training and alerted authorities. The police bomb squad was called to the scene. Fire officials later confirmed the object was an extended marine flare.
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Hanauma Bay, nestled inside a breeched volcanic cone on the southeastern shore of Oahu, has some of the state's calmest waters, most pristine beaches and world-renowned snorkeling over coral reefs that teem with colorful fish.
In 2016, for the second year in a row, the beach was selected as the best beach in America by a Florida professor — Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach — who's made a career ranking and studying beaches around the country.