Winds Kick Up a Storm, Send Beach-Goers Home Early

Gales kicked up sand and sent beach crowds packing for home early Sunday, and gusts of up to 25 m.p.h. are expected again today, but with slightly warmer temperatures.

“We had very low beach crowds today (for a holiday weekend), due to very strong winds,” said Jeffrey Schunk, a lifeguard dispatcher for Huntington State Beach. “We had sand blowing off the beach, creating a nasty sand mist that chased everybody away.”

Ten people died on California highways during the first 12 hours of the holiday weekend, a slight increase from the nine fatalities reported in the same period last year.

The California Highway Patrol said that as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday, officers had made 16 drunk driving arrests in the county since Friday at 6 p.m. No fatal traffic accidents were reported during that period.

However, Irvine police reported that one woman died when her car struck a utility pole at 4 a.m. on Irvine Center Drive. Teri Lee Delmonico, 26, of Huntington Beach, was heading for work when her car struck the pole, police said.

Delmonico was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about 7 a.m. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

More Than 30 Rescues

Small-craft advisories were in effect Sunday and Sunday night for the coast waters. Winds of 30 to 40 knots and 8-foot seas made boating in Southern California waters treacherous even for the U.S. Coast Guard, which assisted in more than 30 rescues Sunday, Petty Officer Dennis Hall said.

Rough seas left two boaters lost and presumed dead, swept a West Covina couple from another craft, closed Avalon Harbor on Santa Catalina Island to sailboats and washed away most of what remained of a burned-out section of the Redondo Beach Municipal Pier.

One passenger was lost when heavy seas swamped a 38-foot powerboat, disabling the craft’s three engines and sinking the vessel in 50 feet of water about 50 feet from a pier in San Pedro, authorities said.

Four of the six people aboard swam to shore, and another was rescued by a passing boat, Long Beach lifeguard Luis Martinet said. A sixth passenger was last seen clinging to the hull of the sinking craft and has not been found.

Sunday’s high temperatures were reported along the coast in Laguna Beach, which reported a high of 72 degrees. El Toro was 66 degrees, San Juan Capistrano 68 and Santa Ana was 71. Sunday’s lows were in the low- to mid-50s.

High winds temporarily closed Avalon Harbor and Isthmus Cove on Santa Catalina Island on Sunday to boats under 40 feet in length and to all sailboats, Hall said..

Meanwhile Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland enjoyed busy days despite the high winds.

Stuart Zanville, a spokesman for Knott’s, said: “Business picked up considerably Sunday after Saturday, which was overcast and chilly. We’re pleased and hope that this Memorial weekend will be like last year’s, which was record-setting.”

A spokeswoman at Disneyland said, “Every holiday weekend is busy at Disneyland.”

Both amusement parks declined to reveal attendance figures.

Attendance at Huntington City Beach also declined. Lifeguard Christian Henry said there were only about 25,000 people today, contrasted with last week’s 50,000.

Mostly Sunny Today

Air temperatures along the coast were mostly in the mid-60s. Water temperatures averaged about 65 degrees, lifeguards said.

Today is expected to be mostly sunny, with wind gusts of up to 25 m.p.h. Temperatures are expected to range from the mid-60s to mid-70s.

Clear and cool weather is expected tonight, with lows in the upper 40s to low 50s.