"A lot of us are just wondering how we're going to survive," Forte said.
Just a week before, many of Clark Foam's customers had received Christmas presents from the company that supplies nearly 80% of the world's foam blanks -- lightweight cores that are later hand-shaped and glassed into surfboards.
But then on Monday, Clark, 74, faxed a seven-page letter to hundreds of Southern California shapers and surf shops, saying that a crackdown by local, state and federal environmental agencies was forcing him to close his doors.
"For owning and operating Clark Foam, I may be looking at very large fines, civil lawsuits and even time in prison," he wrote in his letter.
News of Clark Foam's demise sent shockwaves through the Orange County surfing community.
"The sky is falling in the surfing world," said T.K. Brinner, owner of the Newport Beach Frog House surf shop. "There's a panic going on and my advice is that everyone remain calm."
The effects of the Clark closure were felt almost immediately for custom shapers, already struggling to compete with mass-produced boards from Asia, Brinner said.
"This area of Orange County has dozens of surfboard manufacturers that pay their mortgage and feed their families making eight to 10 boards a week," Brinner said. "There's an immediate and undeniable effect and it's tragic.
That will likely mean higher prices at the surf shop. Brinner said many of his wholesalers have already asked him to increase short board prices by $100 and long board prices by $150; so far Brinner has resisted.
"I don't think it's fair to do that," he said.
But it might be hard to resist in the short term. Anyone holding foam is hording it until prices stabilize, Brinner said.
Beyond the economic consequences, Clark's closure has set off a host of conspiracy theories in the surfing community.
