Beachgoers May Tread Unguarded Waters

On Oceanside beaches this summer, lifeguards may be without full-time use of their most critical life-saving device--an inflatable boat that last year plucked dozens of distressed swimmers and surfers from danger.

In San Diego, lifeguards may turn their backs on Black’s Beach--an infamous 2-mile stretch of surf below treacherous bluffs that has become one of the most popular sunning spots in the region.

And, along state-owned coastline in North County and the South Bay, officials fear that, just when the public needs them most, on sunny, sultry weekends, there won’t be enough lifeguards to keep a constant eye on the hordes of people frolicking in the surf.

This summer, the nation’s economic recession may well hit the beach.

Along the shores of San Diego County, many state and city lifeguard services are facing budgetary red ink that may force them to cut back on man-hours and all but abandon some popular beaches.

In the coming weeks, local city councils as well as the state Legislature in Sacramento will meet to hammer out budgets for the new fiscal year, which starts July 1 and runs through next June.

Meanwhile, lifeguard crews watch and wait, worried that budget cuts will crimp their ability to save lives.

Although the area’s most popular beaches--such as La Jolla Shores, Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach--probably won’t suffer a drop in lifeguard coverage, San Diego city guards say budget constraints will prevent them from increasing service there. And no new people will be hired to keep pace at locations that have seen a recent burst of shoreline activity.

Denny Stoufer says budget cuts could make the summer of 1991 the worst in a quarter of a century at local state-operated beaches.

“It’s a worst-case scenario, but a 30% cut would be a disaster,” said the aquatics supervisor for the La Costa District of the state parks agency. “If we have a busy summer, people are going to die out there--people are going to drown. And it’s not a matter of if, but when.”

Stoufer faces the prospect of having his annual district budget of $546,000 slashed by up to a third--a move that would affect protection at beaches in Carlsbad, San Elijo State Beach and South Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas and at Torrey Pines State Beach.

Even cutbacks of 10% or 20% would force him to reduce manpower on often-busy summer weekdays. But the rumored 30% cut, he says, would mean fewer lifeguards on the beach during weekends and holidays--the time most Southern Californians gravitate to the sand for some fun and sun.

So far, Stoufer’s supervisors have been unable to allay his concerns.

“We haven’t got the numbers yet, but so far, our information isn’t good,” said George Cook, deputy regional director for state parks and recreation in San Diego.

“We won’t have any real numbers until the governor and the Legislature come together on the budget. There’s rumors of up to a 30% cut in our budget. And a 30% cut would be devastating, there’s no question about it.”

Stoufer says his agency is drafting several contingency plans for each new beach budget scenario to best handle the expected 6 million visitors that area state beaches will attract this year.

Cuts would mean he won’t be able to add a desired 19 new people to his staff of 85 guards. That means people will be less likely to find a lifeguard around if they get in trouble in the water, he said.

“Even with a smaller budget cut, people are going to notice the difference; we won’t be manning some stations during the week that we’re manning now. But on hot days those places are just as crowded as on the weekends,” Stoufer said.

The larger cutback would mean empty lifeguard towers at some state beaches--even on weekends. “I obviously don’t want to do that because it would mean compromising public safety. But, if you don’t have a choice, you don’t have a choice,” he said.

At Silver Strand State Beach south of Coronado is also operated by the state and could face pronounced staffing cutbacks if the 30% cutbacks become reality.

Ray Duncan, aquatics superintendent for the city of Oceanside, has water-based woes of his own. A budget package being considered by the City Council would mean a 5% cut in revenues for his department.

But it could have been much worse. The budget actually calls for a 17% to 20% cut in the Aquatics Department, which covers lifeguard services and several youth swim programs.

Duncan, however, decided to allocate cuts elsewhere to save money for the much-needed ocean guards, who use 14 towers to patrol 3.7 miles of city beach.

“You can close a gate at a public pool,” he said. “But you just don’t have the flexibility to tell people not to come to the beach because you don’t have enough lifeguards to save their lives in an emergency.”

In any event, Duncan may be forced to close two lifeguard towers--including one at the mouth of the San Luis Rey River, a location he says cries for a guard because hundreds of beachgoers congregate there each day.

And he may also cut his winter staff in half--from four to two guards--beginning in October. Like many supervisors, he said the cuts would not mean laying people off, just not scheduling them to work as often as he feels is necessary.

But by far the worst cutback on Oceanside beaches is the full-time loss of the 12 1/2-foot inflatable rubber boat with its 25-horsepower motor that guards use to patrol the often rough coastal waters.

“We like to have it out on the water just about all the time in busy periods,” Duncan said. “And it’s been a real life-saver for us. In the past, with situations of 6- to 8-foot surf, we’ve just cruised along the break pulling a dozen or more people out of the water, two or a three at a time.”

Budget cuts would mean the boat--known to guards as the IRB--would be taken off constant patrol with its two-man crew and placed on standby status, used after the fact in case of emergency.

“We’d like to have it in service every day if possible, but funds won’t allow us to do that,” he said. “But we’re not alone. The recession has hit agencies up and down the coast. We’ll do what we can to survive--but we’re going to have to be innovative.”

No need to tell Chris Brewster. Under the current budget proposal in San Diego, most of his beaches will be spared, says the captain of the city’s Lifeguard Service.

However, he stands to lose coverage at Black’s Beach--the famous La Jolla gathering spot for nudists and surfers. Six guards now staff the spot, which is expected to attract 400,000 beachgoers in the coming year--its share of the 12 million annual visitors to city beaches.

“It’s potentially serious,” he said. “The bottom line is that the reason there are lifeguards at the level we have today is that we have a relatively treacherous ocean coastline here.

“So when lifeguards are removed from areas, it certainly flies in the face of the experience cities have had when they decided that the guards were needed at the beaches in the first place,” he said.

Several city beaches--such as South Mission and a stretch of Pacific north of the Crystal Pier--have experienced such a growth in popularity that extra staffing is needed--something that won’t come this year.

Brewster said Black’s Beach is particularly dangerous because of the unstable bluffs beachgoers must negotiate to reach the shoreline.

“History indicates we have 50 to 70 rescues a year there, either from the water or the bluffs,” he said. “Without lifeguards, some of those people obviously would have died.”

When lifeguard service was reduced at Black’s Beach several years ago, a drowning occurred within two weeks, Brewster said.

He warned beachgoers to expect a much slower lifeguard response time for emergency rescues there this summer. “With a guard on the scene, the nearest phone is up the bluffs, which is a 10-minute run for the most athletic person,” Brewster said.

Not all county beaches will be seeing fewer lifeguards this summer. Del Mar expects to meet last year’s staffing levels. And a new service started last month to guard the Encinitas shoreline will not suffer any last-minute budget cuts, city officials say.

Solana Beach guards say that, although cutbacks may indeed come, they probably won’t be felt until the winter and the onset of sunning season next spring.

In the South Bay, Coronado officials say they don’t expect any cutbacks in lifeguard services. And Imperial Beach says the four blocks of public beach between Palm Avenue and Imperial Beach Boulevard--operated by the San Diego Unified Port District--also won’t see any reduction in service this summer.