Summer in winter? A lifeguard staffing headache

The unseasonably warm weather at the coast gave Huntington Beach Marine Safety officials a snapshot of what they can expect during the summer.

The three-day Presidents Day weekend felt more like a four-day weekend in the summer for lifeguards as hundreds of people flocked to Surf City’s beaches to enjoy the 80-degree weather and cool water, Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis said.

However, the large crowds were a problem for beach safety officials, who are understaffed during the winter season. There are usually about five people on patrol and no manned lifeguard towers during the winter, which is typically a slow time of the year for lifeguards, Panis said.

The city’s Marine Safety Division was pressed to call its seasonal employees and ask them to work, but many were either out of state or in school, he said.

“We did the best we could as far as calling in supplemental staff, and we opened as many towers as we could,” Panis said. “We ended up having as many as nine people on one of the days.”

Monday proved to be the toughest day for Marine Safety, the division tasked with providing public safety on the city’s beaches. Its workers had to make 20 water rescues and issue numerous safety advisories to beachgoers.

Saturday and Sunday were also difficult for lifeguards, who had to patrol the beaches under a heavy fog.

“As far as Monday goes, we should have probably had every lifeguard tower open like a regular summer day, but we didn’t have access to the people,” Panis said.

The weather is expected to let up over the upcoming days, but Panis said Marine Safety is looking to beef up its patrol by having four lifeguard towers staffed as long as the temperatures stay warm.

“We’re going to have two towers active on both sides of the pier,” he said.

The Marine Safety Division has experienced staffing woes during the winter before. Last year, Panis said, was without an off-season because of the warm weather.

Like all of Southern California, Huntington Beach had been bracing for the anticipated El Niño storms. But that was before temperatures got stuck in the 70s and 80s.

“We thought for sure we’d have a winter this year,” he said. “They’re telling us that El Niño is coming, but it really hasn’t happened. I’m looking out the window and I’m seeing blue skies, a flat ocean with some waves coming in and beautiful conditions. It looks like a summer day.”