Bustling beach bodies

Though summer does not actually end for roughly another three weeks, for some the beginning of another school year offers a respite from the busiest time of the season.

“It’s the very opposite of the spring where school is getting out at different time periods and you can see a progression every week of more and more people,” said Rob Williams, Newport Beach lifeguard battalion chief. Today, he said, “the crowds just cut down dramatically.”

While on Labor Day, Williams had between 75 and 80 lifeguards on duty (about five to 10 more than on a normal weekend), today he estimated there will be about 25 to 30.

Five million visitors in one summer to the 6-mile stretch of Newport Beach’s city beach may sound like a lot, but according to Williams, that number is only slightly above recent years’ seasons.

He estimates lifeguards performed about 4,000 rescues during the summer break.

“We’re looking forward to the end of summer,” Williams said. But, he added, “we also look forward to the beginning of it. Summertime is the best time around here because we have people, crowds, everybody is working and its a team atmosphere.”

For police, the kids returning to school means less youth-related complaints, said Costa Mesa Police Department Cpl. Doug Johnson.

“During the summer, we get more party calls, more people out at night, but it wasn’t busier than in years past,” he said.

He also projected this year was no different in the amount of DUI arrests.

The fall season officially begins on Sept. 23.