For 200,000, Labor Day Is Lazy Day at Beach : Holiday: Lifeguards were hopping, but business was slow for some concessionaires.

High surf, warm water and moderate to heavy crowds kept county lifeguards busy with scores of rescues Monday as more than 200,000 people flocked to local beaches for Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.

“This is a great day. It’s a little more crowded than yesterday. People are rushing to the beach for one last day before school starts,” said John Jetterson, 29, of Santa Ana, who was out Monday throwing a Frisbee with Mike Lucero just south of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Lifeguards from Seal Beach to San Clemente reported moderate to heavy attendance for Labor Day, the last major holiday of the season. About 14,000 people were reported in San Clemente, while an estimated 100,000 people were on the sand in Newport Beach and 75,000 in Huntington Beach.

Bolsa Chica State Beach to the north had substantially lower attendance, with 25,000 to 30,000 people. Parking lots were half filled at Bolsa Chica, which is usually jammed to capacity for summer holidays.

“It was not particularly crowded. On a normal Saturday in the summer, we have had more people,” said lifeguard supervisor Jeff Lung. “Yesterday (Sunday) was busier than Labor Day.”

In Huntington Beach, the relatively low turnout for Labor Day concerned some concessionaires who depend on the summer season for a large share of their business.

“Everyone’s run out of money. Huntington Beach is a ghost town so many people are out of work,” said Laurence Shrier, who works at Sunny’s fast-food stand near the pier. “A lot of concession stands depend on Labor Day to help clear out their inventory. The people are letting us down this year.”

Despite the moderate turnout, high surf, produced by tropical storms off Mexico, kept lifeguards busy with scores of rescues, particularly in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, where strong riptides and inshore currents were reported.

Eric Bauer, a marine safety officer in Newport Beach, estimated that city lifeguards made 200 rescues Monday and had four near-drownings in the six- to eight-foot surf. Bauer also said a 50-foot powerboat almost ran around off 19th Street before the skipper fixed his automatic pilot.

The high surf is expected to continue today, particularly at south-facing beaches such as Huntington Beach, where lifeguards reported surf of four to five feet.

Daytime temperatures across Orange County reached into the 80s Monday, while overnight lows were in the mid-60s. Anaheim reported a high of 83 degrees, while Santa Ana was one degree cooler. Pleasant readings in the 70s were reported along the coast.

According to the National Weather Service, a trough of low pressure extending from the Southern California deserts to the northern part of the state is responsible for the balmy weather.

“The water is at 70 degrees. We’re under clear skies,” said Richard Chew, a lifeguard supervisor for San Clemente. “It’s not as crowded as some other days, but it’s pretty crowded for a Monday. I guess it’s the last hurrah, so to speak, before summer ends.”

Today’s forecast calls for more sunny skies, except for some morning low clouds along the coast. Highs will reach the low to mid-80s again, while the overnight lows will dip into the 60s. Light and variable winds of up to 15 knots are expected out of the southwest.

While air quality in Riverside and San Bernardino counties resulted in health advisories Monday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District predicts that good air quality will continue today for coastal and inland Orange County.

Elsewhere, temperatures were in the mid-70s to the mid-80s in the mountains. A high of 104 was reported in the deserts. It was 82 at the Los Angeles Civic Center and 99 in Palm Springs.