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Beaches Packed, Lifeguards Busy This Memorial Day Weekend
posted: May 26th, 2009 07:48 pm |
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The ocean was warm, the sky was sunny and beaches were packed this Memorial Day weekend with more than a quarter million visitors, Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said on Tuesday.
Big crowds filled Big Corona State Beach late Monday afternoon, as seen in the background from Third Beach.
The major rescue of the weekend occurred just after 5 p.m Sunday at 17th Street, when lifeguards saved two swimmers who were seconds away from becoming a double drowning, Schulz said. That incident occurred near the Tower 15 lifeguard stand when five victims were reported in distress in a rapidly building rip current, two of them climbing on top on each other to stay afloat. The Tower 15 lifeguard, the area unit lifeguard, and the rescue boat responded. Rescue boat operator John Moore and lifeguards Jordan McLaren, Matt DeMartino and Chip Going were able to safely rescue all five victims, Schulz said. She added that swimmers should learn to swim parallel to shore to get out of a riptide, and to talk to lifeguards about safety before going into the ocean.
In all, lifeguards made 32 rescues on Saturday, 89 rescues on Sunday and 52 rescues on Monday, she said.
Lifeguards also reported 3,140 warnings of hazards, both to people in the water and on the sand.
No major injuries occurred, but 127 first-aids victims were treated, and 36 lost children were reunited with their parents, Schulz said.
The surf built on Sunday but decreased Monday. Surf was 3 -4+ on Sunday, with ocean waters exceeding 68 degrees, Schulz said. Lifeguards reported crowds of 80,000 on Saturday, 88,000 on Sunday and 85,000 on Monday.
