SoCal Lifeguards On Alert After Violent, 'Out Of Control' Waves Strike Coast
MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — Local surfers, highly anticipating predicted forecasts of 19-foot waves, were warned Saturday by lifeguards after chaotic storm conditions wiped out the strong swells arriving from the Antarctic.
Wind-whipped, turbulent waves represented conditions all along the south-facing stretches of Zuma and Surfrider beaches, according to lifeguards.
"It's out of control waves, bad shape," was the general summary of the 7 a.m. surf report from lifeguard headquarters at Zuma Beach.
One person, uninjured, was pulled out of the surf by county lifeguards at Will Rogers State Beach shortly before noon, but no further details were available.
Meanwhile, the temperature of the ocean water was reported to be a relatively-warm 59 degrees.
With swells arriving from a storm in the Southern Hemisphere on Saturday, a number of internet surf reports had predicted waves reaching heights of 15-19 feet to break at Zuma Beach.
Enormous swells were observed early Saturday near the Getty Villa museum, crashing into a temporary steel beam seawall, where the shoreline is currently undergoing reconstruction. The impact of the swells blasted foamy water 20 feet into the air.
Down in Seal Beach, however, no coastal flooding was reported as a result of the 6.1 foot-high tide in the early hours of Saturday.
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