A Summer Preview : Weather: Thousands make their way to area beaches as the temperature in Ventura hits 79 degrees. State officials add two lifeguards to help out.

They checked the skies. And they listened to forecasts. And they came in droves.

Some Ventura County residents declared it beach season Friday as they showed up at county beaches to take advantage of sunny weather after a series of rain storms.

“The weather turned perfect,” said Carmen Perrott, a Santa Paula schoolteacher enjoying the end of spring break with her family at San Buenaventura State Beach. “We know where we’re spending the rest of the week.”

Perrott was one of thousands of people who trekked to the beach as temperatures in Ventura hit a high of 79 degrees.

“We had one day of great weather and people responded quickly,” said Kirk Sturm, lifeguard supervisor for the Channel Coast District of the state Department of Parks and Recreation. “State beaches in Ventura were very busy.”

Sturm said the number of people on the beach was unusual for April. Indeed, state officials added two additional lifeguards to help the one who had been scheduled to patrol beaches. The full staff of 16 lifeguards for the five beaches in the district does not come on board on a daily basis until mid-June.

Sturm said that as of Friday afternoon, lifeguards had rescued five people, none of whom had injuries, as the beaches became more populated and the surf grew stronger. “We’re responding to the ocean and responding to the needs of the park visitors.”

Beckoned by the good weather, mothers brought babies to catch their first glimpses of the ocean. Workers slipped out of the office to spend their lunch hours watching the surf. And students hit the beaches instead of the books.

“It’s called cutting school to enjoy a day at the beach drinking beers,” said Anthony Medeiros, 21, of Oakhurst as he described some of the younger crowd who mingled at a private beach near the Santa Barbara County line.

The young men and women worked on their tans, chatted with friends and sipped on drinks. Some surveyed the scene from a vantage point on the rocky cliff above the beach.

Michele Burns, 19, said she had been coming to the private beach for nine years.

“I love the beach,” she said. “I live for the beach.”

Others echoed her sentiments.

“It was such a beautiful day and I needed to preserve my sanity,” said Lisa O’Connor, who squeezed in two hours of sunning at Ventura’s Harbor Cove Beach before beginning the swing shift at the Ventura County Medical Center, where she works as a nurse.

O’Connor also brought her 5-month-old daughter, Justine, along for her first day on the beach.

But Justine was oblivious to the beach scene.

“I just put her hat on her and she conked right out,” said O’Connor, nodding to where the infant slumbered on a pink towel beneath an umbrella and a khaki sun hat.

Others were more intent on their surroundings. Kathy Anderson, 42, on vacation with her family from Antioch, Calif., said she was surprised by how little clothing people on the beach were wearing.

Anderson said she probably would not be able to work on her tan for another six weeks when she returns to Northern California.

“It’s been really cold and we’ve been wearing turtlenecks and sweaters since November,” she said. “I hate to go home.”

Others, such as Glenn Queen, 29, said he chose his home in Ventura just so he could be near the beach. He and his friend, Steve Rutledge, 34, said they come to the beach to surf and enjoy themselves whether it is sunny or rainy. But they said they enjoyed the pleasant weather conditions Friday.

“It’s a beautiful beginning of summer,” Queen said.