EL NINO ENDANGERS SWIM SEASON; OCEAN PHENOMENON CREATES RIP CURRENTS, BEACH HAZARDS.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Ocean rip currents created by El Nino storms could make this one of the most dangerous swimming seasons in years. The two drownings so far this year already have shown the lethal impact of El Nino-powered surf and rip currents. This month, Ventura Harbor Patrol Officer Paul Korber, 46, was killed while attempting to rescue three people caught in a rip current at South Jetty jetty: see coast protection. Beach. On Feb. 14, Utah college student Christopher Fankhouser, 27, died after being caught in an offshore hole while swimming at Calafia Beach County Park in south Orange County. ``I've been lifeguarding for nearly 30 years and this is the worst danger I've seen,'' said San Clemente state lifeguard Mike Brousard, 47. Storms have sent mountains of debris down from rivers and streams. Two uprooted 60-foot eucalyptus trees made their way into the surf at Trestles This article is about the surf spots. For the table, see trestle table. For the type of bridge, see trestle. Trestles is a collection of surf spots in San Onofre, CA near the Orange County border. , the famed surfing break in northern San Diego County. Car parts are scattered along the beach in Ventura. Kitchen appliances and rattlesnakes are washing up on Los Angeles County shores. Worse, the season's huge waves have washed away beach sand, leaving bare rock in some places and holes just offshore where rip currents abound. Last year, there were 52,000 ocean rescues and 50 drownings in California, figures considered low, given there were 116 million beach visitors in 1997. Of the deaths, only eight occurred while lifeguards were on duty. ``We're looking at a hellish spring down here because of the inshore in·shore adv. & adj. 1. Close to a shore. 2. Toward or coming toward a shore. inshore Adjective in or on the water, but close to the shore: holes and the channelization chan·nel·ize tr.v. chan·nel·ized, chan·nel·iz·ing, chan·nel·iz·es 1. To make, form, or cut channels in. 2. To direct through a channel. that's going to cause the rip currents,'' said Lt. Jon Moryl of the Los Angeles County lifeguards A division of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department, the Lifeguard operations safeguard 31 miles of beach and 70 miles of coastline, from San Pedro in the south, to Malibu in the north; Protecting about 55 million beach patrons annually. . So much beach sand has been washed away that lifeguards have been unable to answer some emergency calls because they can't maneuver their rescue vehicles in the narrow space left between surf and sea walls. Adding to the peril, storm drains and pipes that empty into the ocean cause a scouring scouring characterized by scour. scouring disease a colloquial name for secondary nutritional copper deficiency. action that creates holes where swimmers can get caught in rips. Ocean water temperatures that usually dip into the 50-degree range this time of year have instead been considerably warmer. Pleasant water temperature is expected to attract even more swimmers this summer. |
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