Lifeguards Rescue 96 People Amid Giant Surf Chaos in San Diego

From SoCal to NorCal, California's entire coastline got pummeled by giant surf at the end of the December thanks to a bomb cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean.

Big wave surfers flocked to huge Mavericks where they pushed their limits and survived completed chaos. Bianca Valenti endured a mental wipeout, Kai Lenny came over from Maui, and an amputee surfer survived and insane airdrop.

Meanwhile, the surf wreaked havoc wherever it hit. A huge rogue wave wiped out a truck and innocent bystanders in Ventura County and hospitalized eight people. Back at  monstrous Mavericks, giant surf pummeled a pier and almost snatched a woman out to sea.

Down in San Diego, rescue teams were kept busy.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department posted stats yesterday and captioned it:

"Between 12/28 and 12/31/23, @SDLifeguards performed 96 rescues!

"Approximately 165k people visited @CityofSanDiego beaches over that same timeframe. Thanks to our stellar lifeguards for their excellent work. #rescues #bigsurf #cawx #beaches R.Brown"

But that wasn't it, the chaos consumed the area. According to Fox 5 San Diego:

"The 57-year-old Ocean Beach Pier was damaged after getting hit hard by waves over the weekend. Although the pier has not been open since October, it will remain closed through early 2024 because of previous damage.

"On Friday, Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, which is home to a hotel, was forced to temporarily close due to high surf. In Imperial Beach, a manager at a restaurant on pier claims she felt the pier shake and wobble while working."

It's not over yet. Fox reported today:

"Another high surf advisory, which is labeled as minor severity, will be in effect from 3 p.m. Wednesday to 10 p.m. Thursday for San Diego County coastal areas, per the National Weather Service. Large breaking waves of seven to 10 feet are expected."

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