Trying to Weather Record Heat : Thousands Flock to the Shore

Soaring temperatures that set an all-time high in Santa Ana on Monday should continue to bake inland areas at least until Wednesday, but they should begin to drop in coastal areas by this afternoon, forecasters said.

Inland Orange County will have to endure temperatures in the low 90s today, while coastal residents should get some relief with temperatures lowering to the mid-70s, forecasters said. By Wednesday, coastal areas should fall to the mid-60s, and inland temperatures are expected to reach the mid-80s.

“We should get cooler temperatures on the coast by [Tuesday] afternoon, and it should be cooler Wednesday as the onshore flow increases,” said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. The normal temperature for this time of year is 73.

Santa Ana’s temperature set a record that was two degrees higher than the previous high of 94 set in 1981, Brack said. The mercury hit 95 in Anaheim, 93 in Lake Forest, 82 in Dana Point and 80 in Newport Beach.

The balmy California day drove tens of thousands of Orange County residents to the beaches. At San Onofre State Beach, the hot weather and large surf attracted hundreds of surfers such as Tim J. Miller, 28, a construction worker from San Clemente.

“It was very good out there today,” Miller said while relaxing on the beach with his girlfriend, Lynee Crisfield, 26, of Huntington Beach.

Crisfield, a student at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, read a textbook on criminal law while Miller grabbed a few waves.

“I study while he surfs,” Crisfield said. “This weather is just the greatest, and it’s what I need because I have to go into decompression tomorrow when I return to work.”

The greater numbers of beach-goers and surfers over the weekend and Monday kept lifeguards busier than usual. In San Clemente, state lifeguard Jennifer Higginson issued warnings to swimmers all day.

“We had some pretty incredible rip currents [Sunday],” Higginson said. “Some were pulling 300, 400, 500 yards out to sea and we had a lot of rescues too. If it was a summer day, all the lifeguards would be in the water all day long making rescues.”

In Newport Beach, lifeguards reported 20 rescues Monday afternoon in the west Newport Jetty field area.

“We had a great deal of rips, especially around the rocks and jetties,” said Newport Beach lifeguard Robert Williams, who added that lifeguards performed 85 rescues on Sunday, including a surfer who suffered a punctured lung at 52nd Street.

Lifeguards explain springtime can be particularly dangerous for swimmers because of high surf and more rip currents carved into the ocean floors by winter storms. And, in contrast to summer, people’s swimming skills tend to be weaker because they merely want to cool off.

“Let me suggest that whenever people go to a new beach, the smart thing would be to talk to a lifeguard and find out what the conditions are,” Higginson said.

Meanwhile, at Camp Pendleton, military and Orange County firefighters battled a brush fire that destroyed about 200 acres of vacant land in the northwest portion of the base Monday, said Master Sgt. Dewayne Washington, a military spokesman. The fire was discovered about 11:45 a.m. and was expected to be completely contained by late Monday night, Washington added.

No injuries were reported from the blaze.

Times staff writer Martin Miller contributed to this report.

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How Hot Was It?

So hot that Santa Ana broke a 15- year-old record high by two degrees. Other highs from around the county:

Anaheim: 95 degrees

Santa Ana: 96 degrees

Dana Point: 82 degrees

Newport Beach: 80 degrees

San Juan Capistrano: 94 degrees

Lake Forest: 93 degrees

Monday’s high: 96 degrees

Record high: 94 degrees (1981)

Normal high: 73 degrees

Source: WeatherData, Inc.