The Los Angeles coast was hit by big waves and rip currents over the weekend, resulting in 721 rescues by lifeguards.
This comes after nearly 2,000 rescues happened last weekend.
“Thankfully, no drownings here in Los Angeles County over the last two weeks,” L.A. County Ocean Rescue Captain Pono Barnes told KNX News’ Jon Baird. “Pretty impressive numbers.”
But he said things can get dicey any time of the year.
“It's Los Angeles. There is no offseason,” he said. “It's summer year-round. I've made incredible rescues in 90-degree heat in the middle of January.”
Barnes added that the lifeguards are trained to spot things that would indicate that somebody's in trouble in the ocean, even before they know they're in trouble.
Baird spoke with surfers at Manhattan Beach, who went to check out the waves. One surfer said the waves were amazing.
“It was great waves and really warm, and there's no stingrays,” she said.
Another said the waves felt heavy.
“The waves just felt really heavy and really, like, out of control,” he said.
A surfer named Joey said it’s important for others to know their limits.
“If you know that you're really good, then paddle out, but if you know that you're not there yet, then stay on shore,” Joey of Alhambra told Baird.
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