This New Jersey Beach Town Closed Because It Was Out of Room

One New Jersey town couldn’t handle the heat this weekend.

The mayor of Belmar announced via Twitter at 3 p.m. Sunday that the 1.6-mile beach town was effectively closed because it had “reached its capacity.”

“Belmar has reached it capacity and we are shutting down all traffic into town from Route 35 effective immediately,” Matt Doherty said.

All roads into the town were blocked off, although full-time residents could bypass the closures by showing their license. After an unprecedented influx of visitors, Doherty consulted the police department and decided to stop any more people from entering for public safety reasons, NJ.com reports.

Belmar’s population during the year is only 6,000, but it soars to more than 60,000 in the summer months. Sunday was what Doherty called a “perfect storm of good things,” with the town hosting the 29th annual New Jersey Seafood Festival under sunny skies. The festival drew 200,000 visitors over the course of the weekend.

The Route 35 entrances to Belmar reopened at 7 p.m. Sunday night.