As massive swell continues, beachgoers and lifeguards remain on high alert

A strong swell from the South Pacific, said to be the largest in nearly two decades, has lifeguards from Los Angeles to San Diego on high alert, trying to keep beachgoers safe in the big waves as crowds flood to the coast with weather warming and schools letting out for summer break.

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On the second day of the swell hitting the Southern California coast, waves of 15 feet were seen at south-facing beaches and even greater than 20 feet at the Wedge in Newport Beach. Big surf from a previous swell contributed to a drowning Saturday off Dana Point and, on Wednesday afternoon, the search continued for a young girl swept off the sand Tuesday evening in Laguna Beach.

Lifeguards in Newport Beach made 105 rescues on Tuesday and 36 by midday Wednesday, while also reporting nearly 3,500 preventive actions — warning people before they even reached the water — between the two days.

At Treasure Island beach, where a search was still underway Wednesday for the missing girl, Laguna Beach lifeguards were keeping people out of the water, not taking any chances, even if they were just ankle deep.

Rob and Sandy Morrison, on vacation from Scottsdale, Ariz., were hoping to take a dip in the cool ocean on Wednesday when Laguna Beach lifeguards told them the ocean was closed for anyone except experts with swim fins.

“It’s a little bit disappointing,” Rob Morrison said, still hoping to get his toes wet, just to say he was in the Pacific Ocean.

Though he’s a seasoned swimmer, bodysurfer and diver, Morrison said he knew that without fins, he would be outmatched by the ocean.

“It’s a no-swim day. I don’t know the beach, so that’s fine with me,” he said.

Ray Moreno, 37, said he had a scare — and a lesson — Tuesday evening at about 5 p.m. in Laguna Beach, just hours before the young girl went missing at Treasure Island. He had just moved back to the beach town that morning, he said, wanting to mark his return in the ocean.

Moreno has done long paddles, has been working on his cardio lately and said he felt confident in his ocean ability — until he felt the wave give a subtle pull out to sea. He tried to swim diagonally, the way he had been told to get out of a rip current.

“I couldn’t, the waves just kept coming, they were breaking and smashing on me,” Moreno said. “I even got pulled under at one point.”

Realizing he was struggling, he started waving his arms. A lifeguard with a buoy was quickly by his side, instructing him to hold onto the flotation device and swim backwards, Moreno said, the guard pulling him toward the shore.

“I had never experienced that in my life, I never thought I would,” he said.

When they reached the shore, Moreno said he embraced the lifeguard and thanked him. He started clapping for the guard, other beachgoers around them who watched the scene unfold joining the praise for the rescue, just one of the many that have happened along Southern California beaches the past week.

“He risked his life. I didn’t go out there with the intention of being reckless. I just underestimated it,” Moreno said. “I’m glad to be alive. It was a humbling experience.”

Alexis Garcia and daughter Aubree, 11, were enjoying a day at the beach at Christmas Cove in Laguna Beach on Wednesday, with the big waves keeping them on dry sand.

“It’s just very scary. You can see the ocean is kind of deceiving,” Garcia said. “I don’t want anything to happen to my children, or anyone.”

Christina Roberts, visiting from Chicago with daughter Madison, 6, was on her third day at the beach in front of their hotel, the Montage, each day hoping the big surf would ease up.

“The first day, she wanted to put her feet in. The waves were too scary, and people were starting to get pulled in,” she said. “Lifeguards were telling people not to go in and they would pull back. She’s so little, it was too dangerous for us.”

Roberts said she heard the sound of the ambulances Tuesday evening, and a person being brought up the beach on a stretcher and a helicopter searching past midnight.

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“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said.

Surfline, a Huntington Beach-based company that tracks swells and waves around the world, has early buoy analysis that indicates the latest south swell could be the largest since July 2009, and possibly slightly bigger than even that swell, according to lead forecaster Kevin Wallis.

It looks to be falling just short of the April 2007 swell, in terms of swell height on the buoys, Wallis said. The swell originated from a huge storm in the central South Pacific, he said.

In Newport Beach, city crews built berms to protect homes on the Newport Peninsula from flooding. And in San Clemente, the pier was closed until Wednesday afternoon as waves reached its underside and appeared to break off some wood and wash it to shore.

The National Weather Service issued a “beach hazard statement” for the Southern California coast through Thursday afternoon.

The size of the waves will drop slightly on Thursday as the swell starts to fade, though they will still be hazardous in the 6- to 8-foot range at south-facing beaches and larger still at the Wedge. Surf will drop to 5 feet to 7 feet on Friday and Saturday, before bumping back up to 6-to-8 feet through next Wednesday, according to Surfline.com.

The surf in Los Angeles County, while large, wasn’t as big as Orange County due to offshore islands blocking the swells into the Santa Monica Bay, said Los Angeles Fire Department Lifeguard Capt. Pono Barnes.

The largest waves were in the 4- to 6-foot range at Malibu, Zuma and other south-facing beaches, he said.

Last weekend had an estimated 140 rescues, but with schools letting out this week and weather warming, Barnes said he expects that number to be greater heading into the weekend.

“This is kind of like the perfect storm – we will have hot weather, surf and some significant tidal swing – and the people factor,” Barnes said. “Everything will be coming into alignment for a pretty busy weekend.”

The department’s summer season schedule starts this weekend, so all towers will be staffed and lifeguards will be added as needed at L.A. County beaches.

Carissa Rice, field educational coordinator for the Laguna Ocean Foundation, was in Laguna Beach on Wednesday with about 50 children from Fullerton to give lessons on the beach. The hope was to visit the tide pools, but the conditions were not safe enough to get on the rocks.

“We know they are disappointed, not being able to see the creatures. But safety is our priority,” Rice said, noting the group works closely with the lifeguards to assess conditions.

Instead, the group did a beach cleanup to pick up small pieces of trash and Styrofoam washed up by the waves.

“Under safer conditions, if we were walking and got our feet wet, it’s typically no big deal. But when you’re walking out here and see the water looking like ice cream, it’s not ideal for us,” Rice said of the foamy whitewash.

Even though lifeguards do a great job, it’s difficult to guard every section of beach, Rice said.

“Check in with the lifeguards when you go to beaches,” she said. “Be honest with our individual abilities. If you’re not a good, confident swimmer, maybe don’t do certain things.”

And always, watch out for others, Rice noted.

“I think we all have a little bit of responsibility to each other and our fellow humans.”

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