Tsunami warning noted

Lauren Vane and Torrey AndersonSchoepe

Lagunans flooded police dispatch lines with calls after warnings of a

possible tsunami shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday that threatened the

entire West Coast.

Police records clerks said both the nonemergency lines and 911

lines lit up with calls from residents asking questions.

No mandatory evacuations were ordered after Laguna Beach city

officials received word of the warning -- which followed a reported

7.4 earthquake in the ocean off the northernmost edge of California

-- but police dispatchers alerted marine safety and fire departments.

City lifeguards listened to information from the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration and met with the fire department to

discuss further action, said Marine Safety Chief Mark Klosterman.

Police Capt. Danell Adams said police monitored the situation, but

did not feel evacuations were necessary.

“It didn’t appear that we were in any danger at all,” Adams said.

Most oceanfront hotels and restaurants monitored TV news channels

and websites for up-to-date reports, but most kept their doors open,

although ready to lead customers to safety if necessary.

At the Hotel Laguna overlooking the Pacific, managers referred to

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website,

www.noaa.gov, to see if they were in any danger.

“We paid close attention to the national weather service and

broadcast channel,” said David Shepherd, the manager of Inn at Laguna

Beach. “Crescent City was evacuated, but that is at the very top of

California, so we felt confident that we were not in danger. We were

prepared to evacuate if necessary.”

“We were on alert like everyone else. We were in touch with the

local authorities. We had our emergency response plan of action

ready, but we didn’t need to use it,” explained John Gates, the

manager of Surf and Sand Resort. “We would have evacuated all the

buildings and moved everyone into the Pelican Ballroom, which is away

from the ocean and has a concrete structure.”

Vacation Village was an exception to the otherwise calm reaction.

Just a few minutes after the tsunami warning was broadcast, dozens of

vacationers appeared in the lobby.

“The lobby was filled with 50 to 60 concerned guests,” said

manager Michael Patel. He said he did all he could to calm them down.

“Many people wanted to leave. We had one man from the East Coast

who heard the news, and just left. We offered to hand out

flashlights, and bottles of water, and we kept the TV on. I also made

a call to San Francisco to see what was happening up there, and half

the people there were not even aware of it,” explained Patel. “I went

to the beach to personally see if there was any danger. We are now

reviewing our safety plans.”

While most restaurants and customers contacted had little or no

concern about the warning, the Beach House restaurant closed earlier

than usual.

“We just shut down early. We didn’t want to make a big deal about

it,” said Audrey Manning, manager of the Beach House.

Other restaurants such as the Boom Cafe, C’est La Vie, BJ’s Pizza

and Grill, and Splashes Restaurant and Bar continued business as

usual.