Ray Invasion Could Put Some Sting in Your Step

Unusually warm ocean water off Southern California has prompted a summer stingray invasion, especially along Orange County beaches, where swimmers and surfers in recent days have reported being stung by rays dug into the sand in shallow water.

At Bolsa Chica State Beach, at least nine young pupils at Corky Carroll’s Surf School in Huntington Beach hobbled out of the water Thursday morning in need of first aid after feeling the touch of a ray’s barbed tail.

Lauren Mitchell, 14, said it felt like she stepped on a rock until the toes on her left foot started to hurt.

“At first it was not a big deal,” she said. “But then it hurt pretty bad. I got out, went and told an instructor that I thought something had bit me, and he said, ‘Oh no, not another one.’ ”

Lifeguards were summoned and Mitchell was taken to lifeguard headquarters, where she was soon joined by eight others from the surf school who were given aid.

Among the victims was instructor Joe Mauricio, 18. He was stung on the outside of his heel, a painful experience that he said felt “20 times worse than a bee sting.” In San Clemente, two people were treated for stings, and San Diego’s Mission Beach had 10 cases Thursday.

Stingrays are common in the summer, and lifeguards say an average of five people are stung on a busy summer day.

This year they are particularly numerous, experts say, because of higher-than-normal water temperatures. Huntington Beach lifeguards said the water off the pier peaked at 74 degrees Thursday, a rise of 10 degrees from just two weeks ago.

Robert Burhans, curator at Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, said the tropical storm that blew over Southern California bringing hot, muggy air helped warm the ocean’s shallow areas, “pockets where there isn’t a lot of water movement.”

Relatively calm waters, with breakers in the 1- to 3-foot range, have also helped create ideal conditions for the rays, which enter shallow water to feast on crabs, he said.

“Stingrays love to sunbathe because it’s so nice and warm -- and they dig in so you can’t see them,” Burhans said.

When stepped on by an unlucky swimmer, they react by snapping their barbed tails, which carry a toxin.

The best way to avoid stingrays is to shuffle your feet in the water, dragging them on the sand, lifeguards say. The vibrations are felt by any lurking stingrays, which typically swim away to avoid confrontation.

Bathing the injury in hot water helps neutralize the toxin.

Lifeguards also recommend a tetanus shot and a doctor visit to ensure the barb is removed.