Summer already busy for Newport lifeguards

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- If Newport Beach lifeguards spent hours getting ready

for a hectic summer season, they will probably be thanking themselves now

for every one of those minutes.

Their busiest season of the year got off to a fiery start because of

heavy surf pounding the shores and nasty rip currents pulling swimmers

into the ocean.

During the June 23 weekend, in merely two days, lifeguards made 229

rescues, officials said. Last weekend, they made more than 150. But in a

testament to them and their work, there have been no deaths since the

beginning of summer.

But the numbers are nothing to be surprised about, said Newport Beach

Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer.

“We’ve had as many as 500 rescues in one day in the past,” he said.

Still, weather conditions over the last few days have posed a few

challenges, said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John Blauer.

“There’s still a little bit of surf,” he said. “The waves are now 2 to

4 feet or larger.”

His department on Tuesday was also in the process of getting prepared

for the Fourth of July holiday, a single day when the beach is expected

to be packed with more than 100,000 people.

Blauer said 65 seasonal lifeguards and seven regulars will watch the

beaches today. The department may enlist the help of anywhere between

three and eight additional reserve lifeguards today depending on the

requirement, he said.

The lifeguards also have some new equipment this summer, including

automated external defibrillators, which are used to revive heart attack

victims, and a closed-circuit television system that monitors activity

near lifeguard headquarters. The camera is being run on a test basis in

collaboration with Surfline, a Web-based surf report.

The biggest challenge for the lifeguards, however, are the “large,

large crowds” the beach attracts on the Fourth of July, Blauer said.

“To add to that, we’ve had reasonable surf over the last few days,” he

said. Cooler weather conditions forecasted for today might help “blow it

down a little bit,” Blauer said.

Lifeguards will patrol the sand and the water in boats, trucks and on

foot.

“Our primary goal is to take preventive steps so that people don’t get

into dangerous situations,” Blauer said. “The most important thing for

our lifeguards is to keep a watchful eye.”

Bauer said usual Fourth of July problems include rip currents, surf

pounding people into the sand causing injuries, and alcohol, which he

said “always plays an important part” during the celebration.

The key to staying safe?

“Watch out for those rip currents,” cautioned Blauer. “Make sure

you’re not jumping or diving into shallow water and wear plenty of

sunscreen.”