Fog Rolls In as Crowds Begin Labor Day Trek to Area Beaches

A cooling fog shrouded parts of the Ventura County coastline on Saturday, but did not deter inland residents from streaming to the beach on the first day of the holiday weekend.

“The crowd is here, but it’s not the weather they expected,” said David Glaser, a patrol officer at Ventura Harbor, where the water temperature was 62 degrees.

The mist made it difficult for lifeguards at San Buenaventura State Beach to determine just how many beach visitors had shown up.

“We couldn’t even take accurate beach counts, because the lifeguards couldn’t see the adjacent towers,” lifeguard Derick Adamache said. “I can’t see more than 200 yards.”

There may be more coastal mist today and Monday.

“We’re looking for a slight cooling trend for the next few days,” said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., a private forecasting firm that supplies weather information to The Times. “The coastal marine layer will gradually deepen each day with the coastal low clouds and fog a little deeper and spreading a little farther inland each morning.”

Coastal highs are expected to reach the 70s and 80s today and Monday, with 90s inland.

Highs on Saturday reached 77 at Point Mugu and 79 at Oxnard by 4 p.m. despite the mist.

Lake Piru Recreational Area reported a high of 96 degrees Saturday, below the customary 100-plus temperatures.

“We have a lot of happy hot campers,” Chief Ranger Jack Withers said. “Actually we’ve got a nice cool breeze coming off the water.”

All 237 campsites at the recreation area and the 47 at the nearby Forest Service campground were full, he said.

Authorities reported no serious problems on county highways, despite the usual heavy holiday traffic.

Inland air quality, which was forecast to be in the unhealthful range Saturday for the second consecutive day, was expected to improve to the moderate range today and Monday.