Dangerous conditions are expected to continue along Southern California beaches this week, with officials warning swimmers to be mindful of life-threatening rip tides and sneaker waves that could catch beachgoers off guard.
Already, hazardous conditions have kept lifeguards busy. From June 6 to Monday, Newport Beach lifeguards conducted 12,104 preventive actions — such as advising people to avoid certain activities and moving them out of hazardous situations — and 516 rescues, according to Adam Yacenda, lifeguard battalion chief for the city’s Fire Department.
“For one week in the season, that is a lot,” Yacenda said. “With the 516 rescues, that’s a decent number with one week in. If that was just to carry on every week, we’d have over 3,000 rescues. It’s a significant number.”
By comparison, around last Fourth of July, Newport Beach had more than 350 rescues during a weeklong period.
Recent rescue numbers could’ve been even higher, Yacenda said, but lifeguards have been aided by colder water and the fact that some schools are still in session — meaning crowds have been smaller.
The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood advisory that remains in effect along the Malibu coast through Tuesday morning, the weather service said. The highest tides will be in the evening, officials said.
Over the last week, the greatest threat of dangerous rip currents and sneaker waves has been on the beaches facing south or southwest, officials said.
Newport Beach warned residents to also prepare for a series of king tides continuing through Tuesday. City employees have been distributing sandbags to residents to help protect their property from flooding. Officials urged beachgoers not to park in low-lying areas.
“Motorists are urged to drive slowly through flooded areas to avoid creating wakes that can worsen flooding and impact nearby properties,” the city said in a statement.
Hazardous conditions along California’s coastline have had severe and, in some cases, deadly repercussions. A 5-year-old San Bernardino girl, Amada Mia Brown, vanished in high surf last week. Her body was recovered in Laguna Beach on Thursday.
One person was killed and another was injured last week after being swept off the beach in Santa Cruz County.
On Wednesday, the Santa Cruz Fire Department and California State Parks responded to Panther Beach around 5 p.m. to reports of two people being swept out to sea, according to Santa Cruz County volunteer Fire Capt. Kyle Breton.
Eight rescue swimmers were deployed and pulled the two women from the water, Breton said in a video posted to X.
One of the women later died from her injuries and the other is in critical condition, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
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