Crowds flock to Orange County beaches for packed, but uneventful holiday

People celebrating Independence Day filled Orange County’s beaches to enjoy sunny weather in the mid-70s, and by late afternoon no major problems had been reported, according to several lifeguard agencies.

“We were really busy, but all run-of-the-mill stuff,” said Ethan Balter, a lifeguard at San Onofre State Beach. “Just a good, busy Fourth of July.”

A strong south swell brought dangerous conditions including rip currents, particularly on south-facing beaches, and lifeguards reported wave sets as high as 3 feet to 5 feet in Newport Beach and overhead in San Onofre.

Those conditions plus 70-degree water temperatures in San Clemente added up to “a lot of rescues,” city lifeguard Lt. Rod Mellott said.

As of 3 p.m., Newport Beach lifeguards had performed 55 rescues and 2,247 preventive actions (such as moving swimmers away from rip currents), but no major incidents, Newport Beach Fire Department Lifeguard Chief Mike Halphide said.

Out of 34 medical calls to Newport city beaches, about a third were for people who encountered stingrays, Halphide said.

The water temperature only reached the upper 60s there, he said, “but it doesn’t seem to be inhibiting people from going in.”