Though San Diego lifeguards always anticipate large numbers of people on the beach on the Fourth of July, the right combination of factors led to “pretty extreme” crowds this year, they say.

“The beaches were extremely busy,” said Lt. Ric Stell. “There were a ton of rescues, tons of medical aids and proactive measures we had to take.”

Statistics on the exact number of rescues and medical cases are not yet available.

Stell said several factors came together to make La Jolla’s beaches in particular more crowded than in past years.

“Fourth of July was on a Thursday this year, and anytime there is a holiday that close to a weekend, it is going to be that much busier,” he said. “When people are able to stitch three or four days together, it will be busier than when a holiday is midweek.”

Furthermore, the weather was nicer than in past years.

“We had good favorable conditions, both with the weather and the water,” Stell said. “Last year, it was hit-and-miss, kind of gloomy, and those things dictated where crowds go. We also had warm water and elevated surf [this year]. Those factors compounded.”

In La Jolla, he said, many people in the crowds stayed all day so they could also watch the drone show in La Jolla Shores or fireworks further south that night, whereas other beaches were more empty later in the day as people left to see fireworks.

One area that was particularly affected was Marine Street Beach, where crowds and underage drinking put a strain on local authorities, Stell said.

“Our big thing is to keep people safe and be proactive,” he said. “But Marine Street … is really popular with teenagers. That ended up being a problem because there were 1,000 [teenagers], some that were drinking and caused a ruckus. That affected us because all of our resources were being used, and it affected the San Diego Police Department because they had to be called for crowd control. We had to mitigate with what we had.”

Stell added that “alcohol and ocean recreation don’t mix; it never has. But teenagers drinking [there] is a real problem.”

He said there were no alcohol-related injuries on July 4, but he offered a reminder that alcohol is not allowed on the beach.

Additionally, Stell advised reviewing posted rules whenever visitors go to a beach, especially regulations on animals, beach fires, camping and more.

He also recommended swimming near a lifeguard tower and asking anyone stationed there about conditions or what is allowed.

“A lot of people are coming to La Jolla but don’t know the situations that can occur there,” Stell said. “Lifeguards are aware of the conditions of any of the beaches they patrol, and they are happy to answer any questions you may have. Just do what you can to be careful.” ♦