Watch: Comically Beginner Surfers Ride Costco Board in Historically Flooded LA River
After days upon days of consecutive rain, California is finally drying out.
The atmospheric river that dumped on the state was historically heavy and, in fact, broke records in the south particularly. In downtown Los Angeles, over the course of three days, the area experienced more rain than half the annual average.
All that water caused damage, deaths, traffic delays, and some absurdist Angeleno behavior, like these comically novice surfers riding Costco soft-tops in a flooded creek. One of which even wore tennis shoes, as he rode tandem with his buddy.
The Los Angeles Times picked up the clip, and explained the situation as such:
“Record breaking rains this past week attracted Biola University students to the flooded La Mirada Creek Park where they attempted to surf the flood control channel.
“Rain totals in parts of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains topped 12 inches as of late Tuesday, including 13 inches of rain in Bel-Air and and 13.48 inches in Topanga, according to the National Weather Service’s latest counts.
“Waters can be dangerously unpredictable and powerful during floods. We do not encourage individuals to attempt this stunt. Health professionals also advise the public to stay out of the ocean for at least 72 hours after major rains because runoff from streets and farms can expose people to harmful bacteria and diseases.”
Surfing after a rain, in the ocean or otherwise, is widely discouraged by health officials. Like the Times mentioned, most surfers know the golden “72-hour” rule.
But these dudes went for it, regardless.
Look out, El Porto; the La Mirada boys have been practicing.
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