Crowds put guards on intense watch

Jenny Marder

Tens of thousands of people poured onto Surf City beaches last

weekend, escaping from grueling inland heat but making it a grueling

couple of days for short-staffed lifeguards.

“One guard would go out and rescue two or three people at one

time,” said State Park Officer Dale Adama. “There were strong rip

tides here that just pulled people out.”

With beaches bursting at full capacity, but staffing at only half

of the summertime force, “lifeguards were stressed to do their jobs,”

Adama said.

Adama usually works as an officer, but staffing was so tight that

he changed to his red swim trunks Saturday to take up some slack for

lifeguards. Rescues were so frequent that lifeguards spent hardly any

time in the tower, he said.

“[Lifeguards] were in and out of the water all day long,” said

Adama, who couldn’t give estimates on the number of beachgoers,

although he did say parking was at full capacity. “They would get

back in the tower, be there for about 20 minutes and, boom, back in

the water.”

A team of 22 lifeguards at Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach

made nearly 100 rescues. Their numbers are down from about 34 guards

who work at the state beaches during the summer season.

About 25 lifeguards worked at Huntington City Beach Saturday and

Sunday, nearly half of the summer force, which is about 40.

Lifeguards are stationed at every other tower in the spring season,

whereas in the summer, all towers are full.

This meant that each lifeguard had to cover an area twice as large

as normal, Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein said.

Officials estimated there were about 100,000 people on city

beaches.

“Springtime’s always very challenging for us,” Beuerlein said. “We

get a lot of people who have been cooped up all summer long.”

Waves were also larger than normal. Waves reached eight feet at

the state beaches and five to six feet at Huntington City Beach.

“It was awesome out there,” said 21-year-old Shaun Ward, who

surfed the California Cup Surf Competition all weekend. “The waves

were bigger than usual, which makes for a really great competition.

It was insane.”

Marine safety officers have some advice for those venturing into

the waters this spring:

“Don’t assume you can stand up, because the bottom is very

uneven,” said Huntington State Beach Marine Safety Lt. Mike

Baumgartner. “If you’re bodyboarding, have a leash and fins. And --

this is our standard rip current advice -- if you find yourself in a

rip current, don’t panic, swim parallel to shore and then swim into

shore.”