Reality rescues take 5

Huntington Beach in the summer has many icons: sand, surf, the pier, lifeguard towers —and now, camera crews. They join the more familiar landmarks for a while this year, as Huntington Beach lifeguards get a chance for the national spotlight on reality television.

The fifth season of the show “Beach Patrol,” a Court TV cable show, which follows around lifeguards in their day-to-day rescues, is filming on Huntington Beach’s shores. Crews are expected to stick around several weeks. The City Council approved a contract with production company Evolution Film & Tape June 18.

Huntington Beach Mayor Gil Coerper said he sees the contract as a way of showing off the city and what its lifeguards do every day.

“Other cities have the same thing and had no problems with it,” he said. “What it’s going to do is enhance the image of the city of Huntington Beach, with all the capabilities and expertise that the Marine Safety folks have.”

The show’s producers chose Huntington Beach because it was instantly recognizable to a national audience, said Ed Hersh, Court TV’s executive vice president of current programming.

“We always look for places that are kind of iconic as beaches,” he said. “Huntington Beach, Surf City USA, the places of legend — we just thought it would be great that we could film there.”

From what city Marine Safety Chief Kyle Lindo has witnessed, the show’s producers have had a lot to look at. They have shadowed lifeguards on foot, by truck, and even — on Fourth of July — by boat. The level of activity, which keeps Huntington Beach lifeguards extremely busy, surprised even camera crews.

“They’re saying we’re one of the busiest places they’ve ever seen,” Lindo said. “It’s not as if it’s their first beach they’ve filmed and worked.”

According to the contract between the city and Evolution Film & Tape, which also produces “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” city representatives get an editorial veto on the show, with the ability to object to “unprofessional” content and to look at episodes before they show.

Among the financial arrangements in the contract, the Marine Safety Division receives $8,000 for each of the six to eight planned episodes. That money will pay for emergency equipment the lifeguards need, Lindo said.

“Any way we can get funds for this from somewhere other than the taxpayers, it benefits the people of Huntington Beach we save,” he said.

The previous season filmed early this year, “Beach Patrol: Honolulu,” premieres July 16, said Court TV spokeswoman Susan Ievoli.

With the city in the height of its summer tourism season, the lifeguards — and the show — have been very busy, Lindo said.

“They have at least two, sometimes three film crews on weekends,” he said. “With all this activity, we’re seeing them a lot. The water’s still warm, we’re still making a lot of rescues, and we’re out there doing our job.”

The show is expected to air in early 2008, “just when everybody in the North and East are saying, ‘God, I wish I could go to the beach.’ ”

Even early footage of the lifeguards has impressed Hersh.

“What I’m struck by is the way these people work together,” he said. “Most people don’t appreciate the level of expertise and coordination that’s there when it needs to be.”