Lifeguards busy with rescues

Paul Clinton

As big and powerful waves brought by Hurricane Elida pounded the

beaches along the city’s coastline, lifeguards sweated out the

busiest weekend so far this summer.

Hazardous surf even hit the usually docile Crystal Cove State

Beach, where five people were sent to area hospitals after crawling

onto the beach with neck injuries caused by a wave that tossed them

headlong into the hard sand.

“The strong surf has really hit us hard over the past five days,”

said Ken Kramer, the lifeguard supervisor at Crystal Cove. “Our

guards were really busy this weekend.”

Over the weekend, waves cresting as high as 6 feet crashed at

Crystal Cove, as dangerous rip currents also swirled in the waters,

pulling some swimmers farther out to sea than they could safely

manage, Kramer said.

Between Thursday and Sunday, lifeguards rescued 64 swimmers and

provided minor medical aid to another 46 people. On Saturday morning,

there was also a boating rescue at Reef Point, off Crystal Cove State

Park. A boat experienced engine problems and drifted in past the surf

line, when safety personnel rescued its crew and towed the boat to

shore.

Farther north, larger crowds flocked to popular city beaches,

where the surf reached even more dangerous conditions. City

lifeguards posted red-flag warnings from the Wedge to Newport Pier,

beaches that face south and have caught the brunt of the stormy surf.

Waves at 18th and 19th streets reached as high as 8 feet, Lifeguard

Capt. Jim Turner said.

Yellow flags were still in place Monday at 32nd Street, 36th

Street and 40th Street beaches, which curve somewhat southward. Waves

there were 3 to 4 feet.

More than 85,000 people visited city beaches Thursday -- a

surprisingly heavy crowd for a weekday, Turner said. Lifeguards

pulled 351 people out of the water that day, compared with an average

of 20 rescues for a summer weekday.

Some beaches saw waves that peaked near 10 feet on Thursday,

Turner said.

On Friday, about 75,000 people visited the beaches -- 271 of those

people needed to be saved. But Saturday and Sunday saw the mother

lode, as crowds exceeding 90,000 visited the city each of those days.

Lifeguards rescued 90 and 242 for those two days, respectively.

“There were big, big crowds,” Turner said. “We were quite busy.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at [email protected].