Orange Crush: Cleanup continues after Tybee Island bash

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. - Volunteers and Tybee Island officials spent Sunday cleaning up Georgia's largest public beach after the weekend's massive Orange Crush party.

Officials estimated that more than 6,000 people packed Tybee Island's beach for 2024's spring celebration, WSAV reports.

The island has grappled with the April beach party since students at Savannah State University, a historically Black school, started it more than 30 years ago. Residents regularly groused about loud music, trash littering the sand and revelers urinating in yards.

Those complaints boiled over into fear and outrage a year ago when record crowds estimated at more than 100,000 people overwhelmed the 3-mile island. That left a small police force scrambling to handle a flood of emergency calls reporting gunfire, drug overdoses, traffic jams and fist fights.

This year, officials say they prepared for the party with road and parking lot closures. Thankfully, officials say they did not need to respond to many incidents or medical emergencies.

"The behavior has been pretty good today. We’ve responded to a few medical calls with the Tybee medical authorities and that’s pretty much the extent of what we’ve done today," Georgia Department of Natural Resources Major Bob Holley told WSAV.   

The Georgia State Patrol reports several people were arrested for DUIs, drugs, or firearms.

Many of this year's attendees stayed behind to help the Tybee Island Ocean Rescue lifeguards pick up the trash.

Officials say they were able to fill up more than 10 carts of trash on Sunday afternoon. 

Interim City Manager Michelle Owens told WTOC that the effort to keep the beach clean has been a "community effort."

The cleanup will continue on Monday morning to ensure the remaining trash didn't become ocean pollutants.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.