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High surf is a no-show, but still expected

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Times Staff Writers

The big waves predicted for Southern California beaches failed to materialize Tuesday afternoon, even as ocean swells caused havoc for boaters off the shore of Central California and contributed to the death of a surfer farther north.

Although surfers in Los Angeles and Orange counties expressed disappointment at the lack of heavy swells, the National Weather Service continued to issue high surf warnings for the state’s southern and central coastline until noon Thursday.

The Coast Guard has issued a warning for recreational boaters to stay in port through Thursday. It also put large vessels in the Port of Los Angeles on standby, in case large waves rock the ships and they have to be moved, said Lt. Andrew Munoz, a Coast Guard spokesman.

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“Right now, seas are beginning to build; up north we’re starting to see 12- to 15-foot waves near San Luis Obispo,” he said.

In Pebble Beach, a big-wave surfer died Tuesday in the unforgiving break at Ghost Trees, a Monterey County surf spot known for its 20-foot-and-better waves.

Peter Davi, 45, of Monterey lost his board and was attempting to swim to shore, but never made it, witnesses told authorities. Friends lost sight of Davi and later found him floating in the water unconscious.

In downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana winds pushed temperatures into the 80s and brought warnings of large ocean surf, with possible 15-foot breakers expected through today. Heavy rain is forecast to arrive Thursday night.

The dry winds brought back fire danger concerns.

The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning Tuesday for Los Angeles and Santa Barbara-area mountains, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the Santa Clarita Valley and Ventura County into this morning.

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david.reyes@latimes.com

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susannah.rosenblatt @latimes.com

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Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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