BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Lifeguards rescue stranded...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Lifeguards rescue stranded fishermen

Two men were rescued by Newport Beach lifeguards after they became

trapped by the incoming tide on the rock point west of Corona del Mar

State Beach at 10:52 a.m. on Saturday.

“A good size surf was breaking,” Lifeguard Lt. Brian O’Rourke

said. “It was very dangerous conditions and they couldn’t get off the

rocks.”

Lifeguards Randy Lempert and Mike Ure performed the rescue from

the boat Sea Watch. Lempert jumped in the water, pulled the men from

the rocks and swam them to the boat one at a time, while Ure drove

the boat, O’Rourke said.

The men had been fishing from the rocks when the surf came in, he

said. The surf was a good size, at about 3 to 5 feet, he said.

“There definitely was a potential they could have drowned or been

severely injured,” he said.

The jagged rocks and marine growth can cause deep wounds and cuts,

O’Rourke said.

“Many people realize they are in a bad situation too late,” he

said. “The surf pounds them against the rocks. It’s a very bad

situation to be in.”

Mesa Verde homes without power

Power was out in a residential portion of Mesa Verde on Sunday,

police and fire officials said.

“It seems to only affect the residential area -- so far,” Costa

Mesa Police Sgt. Burt Santee said. “If it turns into New York, you’ll

know.”

Police and fire officials gave different estimates of when the

outage began. Santee said it might have started Saturday night. Fire

Department Battalion Chief Gregg Steward said it started late Sunday

morning.

Responding to residents’ inquiries, city dispatchers had spoken to

Edison representatives.

Edison told dispatch that power might be down until 5 a.m. today,

Steward said. The fire department was told the problem was with a

transformer at Tahiti Street, a dispatcher said.

No traffic signals were affected by the outage, Santee said. He

sent out two extra police units to patrol the affected area.