Big waves continue to hit California as Hurricane Marie effect wanes

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Huge surf drew dozens of surfers, boogie boarders and body surfers, along with thousands of onlookers, to the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Waves topped 20 feet at times at the Wedge jetty in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfboard is broken by the huge waves at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Two surfers ride a wave together during the heavy surf at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Emily Rhyne / Los Angeles Times)

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The powerful waves at Newport Beach’s Wedge jetty often knocked surfers off their boards. (Emily Rhyne / Los Angeles Times)

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By sunrise, hundreds of onlookers had gathered to watch surfers, boogie boarders and body surfers take on the waves at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Emily Rhyne / Los Angeles Times)

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Huge surf drew dozens of surfers, boogie boarders and body surfers along with thousands of onlookers to the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A bodyboarder rides a large wave at the Wedge in Newport Beach, where the surf reached up to 20 feet. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Huge surf drew thousands of onlookers to the Wedge in Newport Beach, where at times the waves topped 20 feet. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer gets a tube ride at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Morning light cast shadows on visitors to the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A lifeguard looks on as heavy surf pounds the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer flies off the lip of a large wave at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer bails out of a huge wave at the Wedge in Newport Beach, where at times the waves topped 20 feet. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer escapes a wall of water at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Surfers slide down a huge wave Wednesday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer raises his arm to acknowledge a screaming crowd at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Thousands of spectators lined the beach Wednesday to watch waves as high as 25 feet tall generated by Hurricane Marie off the Pacific coast. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Water splashes some of the people watching surfers Wednesday at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Young surfers walk along the beach after riding huge waves Wednesday at the Wedge jetty in Newport Beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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A body-board rider races down the glassy face of a big wave at the Wedge jetty in Newport Beach on Wednesday. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Spectators standing on the breakwater at the entrance to Newport Bay watch waves crashing on the beach in Newport Beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer rides high surf caused by Hurricane Marie hundreds of miles away in Seal Beach Wednesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County lifeguard Dave Carr, right, on a personal water craft, pulls to shore a surfer amid crashing waves at Surfrider beach next to the Malibu Pier. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Surfers ride the waves at Surfrider beach next to the Malibu Pier. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer catches air while riding at Surfrider beach next to the Malibu Pier. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Laird Hamilton uses a standup paddleboard at Surfrider beach. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Laird Hamilton prepares his standup paddleboard for surfing at Surfrider beach in Malibu. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Seal Beach lifeguards ask spectators along the shoreline to vacate the beach due to the high surf and tide surge caused by Hurricane Marie. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Steve Trachta and his 8-year-old daughter, Alex, leap over a ditch created to channel water away from homes along Seal Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Seal Beach lifeguards cleared the shoreline of spectators due to the high surf and storm surge caused by Hurricane Marie. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Huge swells generated by Hurricane Marie pound the Malibu Pier on Wednesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Laird Hamilton paddles out against high surf generated by Hurricane Marie in Malibu. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Allen Sarlo, 57, of Malibu, and legendary surfer Laird Hamilton surf a large wave through the Malibu Pier. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer flies through the air as he punches out of one of the large storm-generated waves. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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As night falls, a surfer makes the most of one of the large hurricane-generated waves rolling through Southland beaches. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Waves spurred by the storm damaged the Malibu Pier and will continue at local beaches over the next few days. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer, his leash tangled in kelp, was among those taking advantage of the high surf at Southern California beaches from the late-August storm. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

Aug. 28, 2014 6:32 AM PT

Strong waves with some swells reaching up to 15 feet are expected to continue Thursday, and may produce coastal flooding, forecasters say.

Monster waves sparked by Hurricane Marie have wreaked havoc on beach communities, flooding homes in Seal Beach and damaging boats and facilities in Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island.

At the Port of Long Beach, officials said waves up to 15 feet forced crews to halt operations at two terminals as the big surf combined with high morning tides.

Although surf on Thursday is not expected to be as extreme, waves along south-facing Southern California beaches will still be dangerous, even for experienced swimmers and surfers, said Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“It’s not a good day to go out in the water,” he said.

Waves will be between 6 and 10 feet with surf in some areas as high as 12 to 15 feet, producing strong rip currents. The large swells are expected to subside by the afternoon.

The higher-than-usual surf is expected to stick around until Friday, but dangerous rip currents will continue to create hazardous beach conditions until Saturday, forecasters warned.

Strong waves attracted hundreds of spectators and surfers to local beaches, putting many in the direct path of dangerous surf.

The Long Beach Fire Department reported that rescues were up by 400% Wednesday. And Los Angeles County lifeguards rescued about 70 people from Santa Monica, Will Rogers and Venice beaches, Capt. Kirk Thomas said. That was after 115 rescues the day before.

Even famed surfer Laird Hamilton jumped in the water Wednesday to rescue a stranded surfer.

For breaking news in Los Angeles and throughout California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at [email protected].