Dense Fog Is Blamed for Accidents : Weather: Storm never arrives, but waves batter Ventura Pier, and six commuter flights are delayed in Oxnard.

The first day of winter slipped into Ventura County on Wednesday with a dense coastal fog but clear skies and warm inland temperatures as a predicted storm faded away.

The day was also marked by pounding surf, which meant trouble for at least six surfers who had to be plucked from the roiling water by rescue workers.

Because of the fog, motorists crept through the early morning mist and the California Highway Patrol reported at least 20 accidents, four times normal. Six commuter flights were delayed at Oxnard Airport, but none were canceled, officials said.

In Ventura, another piling came loose from the pier after nine supports were lost Monday.

“It doesn’t appear to be from the damaged area,” Ventura civil engineer Tim Jonasson said. “It may not be significant.”

He said officials were still hopeful the pier could be reopened in two weeks.

“If the weather holds, we’ll start sinking piles (today),” he said.

Eight- to 10-foot swells battered the pier Wednesday afternoon as construction crews assembled cranes and pile drivers.

But the heavy surf heartened surfers, who rushed to the shore with boards in hand as parking officers issued tickets in the lot at Surfer’s Point.

“This is the biggest surf I have ever seen,” 13-year-old Kyle Denitz of Ojai said. “The rip current was like a river.”

The Coast Guard reported pulling two surfers out of the water near Pitas Point and the Ventura harbor master reported rescuing three near the pier after they had either lost their boards or could not make it to shore because of the strong current. A sixth surfer was rescued near Rincon by another surfer. None needed medical attention.

“As the surfers say, ‘It’s going to pack your lunch,’ ” said David Glaser, a Ventura harbor master.

Earlier in the day, a thick fog covered most of the coast and kept authorities busy writing accident reports.

“We had way, way more accidents than normal,” said the CHP’s Dawn Heavyside of the 20 early morning accidents. “On a busy morning, we’ll take four or five reports.”

In Oxnard, the fog, which reduced visibility to 15 feet, played a part in a rollover accident that seriously injured an Oxnard woman.

“The fog just tore us apart,” Oxnard Police Cmdr. Jamie Skeeters said. He said police responded to 10 accidents between 7 and 9 a.m.

Rescue workers had to extract Lisa Jo Alviso, 22, from her compact car after she collided with a catering truck in Oxnard about 8:30 a.m.

Police said Alviso slammed into the rear of the truck as it crossed Rice Road about 1/4-mile north of Camino Del Sol. The truck flipped but the driver was uninjured. Alviso was listed in serious condition at St. John’s Regional Medical Center Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities were thankful that the rain forecast for Wednesday did not prove accurate. With rain, the roads would have been more hazardous, they said. Instead, the fog lifted and temperatures warmed to the mid-70s in Ojai, Fillmore and the east county.

“That was an oopsy,” National Weather Service meteorologist Vladimir Ryshko said of the forecast. Ryshko blamed computers for the bum prediction.

“We are still reeling from the models blowing this one,” Ryshko said. He said the same computer model predicts a 30% chance of rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Until then, expect patchy early morning fog giving way to mostly sunny skies through Friday, Ryshko said.

“It will be somewhat less dense than it was (Wednesday), but it will be back,” Ryshko said.

But police advise using caution when driving in the fog. Headlights should be turned on, and do not use high beams, Heavyside said.

“And slow down,” Heavyside said. “In fact, if you can avoid it, don’t drive at all.”

The winter solstice began at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when the sun passed directly over the Tropic of Capricorn.

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Correspondent Tracy Wilson also contributed to this report.