Surf’s up

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As firefighters curse the Santa Ana winds, surfers couldn’t be more stoked about the off-shore breezes that make for better conditions.

Before dawn, the skies over Camp Pendleton glowed orange from fires at the Marine base. Cars and big rigs crowded surface streets in San Clemente, waiting for Interstate 5 to reopen. And Doug Anderson was on his way to catch some waves.

“Gotta surf,” he said, a cheery voice in the darkness as he suited up in the parking lot used by surfers headed to Trestles, home of world-class breaks.

Anderson, 53, arrived about 6 a.m., driving some 40 miles from his Villa Park home. Like other surfers showing up before and after him, he was unloading a bicycle equipped with a special bracket to carry his board, making the long trek to the beach a little easier.

Within moments, Anderson was pedaling into the darkness, carrying his 6-foot-8 tri-fin shaped by Casey McCrystal, anxious to ride some head-high surf at Lowers, a right-point break at Trestles.

“The winds are down. The flags are blowing a tad off shore. The swell is the right direction,” he said before taking off. “It will be perfect.”

-- Christine Hanley