Thousands at Beaches Enjoy a Holiday Treat: Cooler, Breezy Weather

As temperatures cooled slightly and a light breeze swept away smog, thousands of people jammed Orange County beaches and parks on Sunday to celebrate the midpoint of the three-day Labor Day weekend.

The cooling trend is expected to continue today and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. A stronger onshore flow of air is expected to bring cooler days and morning low clouds and fog, more so inland than along the coast, according to the weather service forecast.

About 30,000 people crowded near the pier in Huntington Beach on Sunday to watch the final day of a six-day surfing competition. And a few miles up the coast, 18,000 more shuffled onto the sand at Seal Beach, many of them to watch a volleyball tournament sponsored by a beer company.

Inland a few miles, about 15,000 people crowded Santa Ana’s Centennial Park at Edinger Avenue and Fairview Street for an early celebration of Mexican Independence Day, featuring a menudo cook-off and entertainers from Mexico. The official date of Mexican Independence is Sept. 16, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind.

About 4,500 people--nearly double the size of recent Sunday crowds--poured into Irvine Park in Orange, Park Ranger Cornel Stimson said. Temperatures there had cooled to the low 80s.

“It isn’t too hot and they are just having fun,” Stimson said. “There’s volleyball, baseball, the wind’s up and there are kites up.”

Even Sunday drivers were on their good behavior, according to police agencies.

The California Highway Patrol reported no fatal traffic accidents in the county by the weekend’s midway point. And a CHP spokesman said that, so far, the Labor Day weekend had brought only 12 traffic deaths statewide, compared to 32 during the same period last year. Even the statewide number of drunk-driving arrests declined over the holiday weekend--1,485 compared to 1,533 in 1984, a CHP spokesman said. The officer had no explanation for the declines.

Traffic throughout Orange County moved smoothly Sunday, police said. The only congestion occurred in the Huntington Beach area, where a SigAlert was declared from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. due to crowds arriving for the surfing competition.

“It’s a real smooth day,” said Lt. Dave Mann of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Moderate to huge beach crowds were reported from Seal Beach to San Clemente, despite heavy surf and riptides caused by storms at sea. Large crowds were lured early to the local beaches, where surf ranged from 2 to 5 feet and water was a comfortable 70 to 74 degrees. Parking lots at Seal Beach, Huntington Beach and Doheny State Beach closed before 11 a.m.

The combination of crowded waters and riptides kept lifeguards busy.

“The weather could not be more beautiful,” said Steve Lashbrook, city marine safety officer at Doheny State Beach, where 40 people had been rescued by midday. “The water temperature is 74 degrees and the air is 76 degrees. This is what lifeguards dream about--big surf, lots of rescues and warm water.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District predicted unhealthful air for sensitive people for the inland valleys today, but Orange County was expected to have another day of good air quality.

Times staff writer Bill Billiter contributed to this story.