Oxnard Considers Beach Lifeguards After Teen’s Death

In response to the drowning death of a 15-year-old boy this summer, city leaders are poised to hire lifeguards to patrol the often treacherous shoreline at Oxnard Beach Park.

The city does not have any lifeguards, despite owning extensive beach property between Hollywood Beach and 5th Street. Oxnard could hire lifeguards to work at the beach during the summer for $30,000, or possibly less, according to a staff report.

Mayor Manuel Lopez asked the city’s parks department to look into hiring lifeguards after Alex Cabrera, who was learning to swim, died after being pulled under by strong rip currents. County lifeguards at Hollywood Beach, about a mile north, were closest to the scene.

Lopez said Cabrera might have been saved if the beach had lifeguards.

“I think we have a moral obligation to prevent tragedies from happening,” he said. “If we have the ability to save a life, we’re duty-bound.”

But Lopez and other council members acknowledge that putting lifeguards at Oxnard Beach Park could embolden swimmers, with more people testing the rough waters.

City Councilman John Zaragoza, a lifelong Oxnard resident, said that as a teenager, he swam in strong currents at the beach, although he knew it was dangerous. Many people from across Ventura County still do so, he said.

“That water looks so beautiful, so green, that it’s very inviting,” Zaragoza said.

The city report states that the County of Ventura Harbor Beach Park could provide lifeguards to work between Memorial Day and Labor Day for $30,000. Three lifeguards would be assigned to Oxnard Beach Park and two towers would be placed there. Lifeguards would be on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Oxnard Fire Department has also expressed interest in providing lifeguards, the report states. The City Council, which will discuss the issue tonight, would have to solicit bids from private and public groups if it decides to hire lifeguards.

At present, warning signs at Oxnard Beach Park alert swimmers to the strong currents. The city relies on local firefighters, county lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard to respond to trouble in local waters.

Oxnard Beach Park is considered one of the most dangerous of the county’s 25 beaches. Only 12 are patrolled by lifeguards, according to the staff report.

“You can post all the warning signs you want,” Lopez said, “but people are still going to swim.”