Beach safety event in Huntington Beach highlights preparations ahead of busy summer

The child was helpless against the power of the surging surf, injured while tossed by the waves.

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The scene that unfolded on the south side of the Huntington Beach was just a mock simulation, but it’s a scenario that can happen in a split second on any stretch of coastline.

And rescuers and medical teams want to be prepared.

A water safety drill was held at Huntington Beach on Wednesday, June 3, simulating the lifesaving processes that happen when a young child suffers a cervical spine injury while riding a bodyboard — everything from lifeguards and fire department first response to paramedics who initiate transport to the UCI Health medical team ready to treat the injured patient.

UCI Health, which participated in the drill, is a Level 1 trauma center that treats about 7,000 patients a year, but also has a Level 2 pediatrics unit that treats about 200 kids a year. It is one of four trauma hospitals in Orange County, with three of those — Rady Children’s Hospital Orange County, Mission Hospital and UCI Health — having pediatric units, said Michael LeKawa, UCI Health emergency and acute care surgeon.

A few years ago, the team started doing first-response simulations every other month, covering everything from search and rescue response for a hiker who had fallen on a mountain to mass casualty events such as earthquakes or mass shootings, LeKawa said.

At the beach event, lifeguards first responded to the mock incident of a surf break injury, helping bring the “victim” to shore. The child was then transported to the hospital, with paramedic and fire department responders doing their part as a way to create “muscle memory” when preparing for such injuries.

“Really critical injury is not all that common with kids, you want to make sure everything is ready for it,” LeKawa said.

The simulation was not only meant as an exercise for lifesaving responders, but also a way to inform the public about drowning dangers both in the ocean or a pool ahead of the busy summer season.

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“Hopefully, we’ll get some awareness of the risk of summer trauma,” LeKawa said. “For the summer, we obviously have a lot more people on the beach surfing and bodysurfing. Between the ocean, boating and swimming pools, drowning is the most common cause of traumatic events in children.”

While adults can also suffer such injuries or dangers around water, it’s especially important that children are watched at all times around bodies of water, he said.

“It sounds un-fun, everybody wants to have a good time while they are boating and on the water. But there’s nothing worse than an unexpected drowning,” LeKawa said. “This extends to swimming pools as well, adding someone to have oversight of the pool.”

Other dangers to be aware of as the Fourth of July nears include firework injuries, as well as fire pit burns when a person steps on hot coals or wood left smoldering overnight, he noted.

Orange County beaches are popular places each summer.

The HB Fire Department’s Marine Safety Division’s 2025 end-of-summer statistics reported more than 125,000 calls for service between Jan. 1 and Oct. 16.

That total includes 4,428 rescues, 84,676 preventative actions, 34,723 enforcement contacts, and 1,807 medical aids.

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