One of the busiest parts of Carlsbad’s beach, almost a mile that stretches from the end of the seawall at Oak Avenue north to the city’s border with Oceanside, has no lifeguards, and some residents and public officials say it’s time for that to change.

“I’ve never seen such a crowded beach with such a little public safety presence in Southern California,” said Andrew Weissenberger, 20-year Carlsbad resident and a retired Orange County firefighter and lifeguard.

Carlsbad has seven miles of coastline. About six miles of that is owned by the state Parks and Recreation Department, which provides lifeguards to those areas. However, the northernmost area is private property and has never had lifeguards stationed there, though guards from the nearby state beach and sometimes from Oceanside have traditionally responded in emergencies.

In recent months, warm weather, dangerous currents and growing crowds have tested that longstanding relationship.


Part of the unguarded beach routinely has some of the most dangerous rip currents in North County. Lifeguards often must run from their nearest tower on the state beach more than a quarter mile to the south, which takes time and leaves them winded before they begin their rescues.

Weissenberger raised the issue at a Carlsbad City Council meeting last week, where the council agreed to look into beach safety and discuss it at a future meeting.

The three-day Fourth of July weekend, always a busy time for Southern California beaches, emphasized the need for northern Carlsbad to have lifeguard towers of its own. There were dozens of rescues including a single incident in which 10 people at once were being swept out to sea in a rip current, state parks Superintendent Robin Greene said Thursday.

“It’s becoming a very popular beach,” Greene said. “There’s a couple hotels, and it gets very busy. We feel it should be lifeguarded.”


On the afternoon of July 4, a lifeguard on a rescue water craft, like a Jetski, near the state beach tower spotted a large group of swimmers being pulled out to sea near Beech Avenue a half-mile north of the state beach.

When the lifeguard arrived, towing a water sled with a second lifeguard, they found one person unconscious, his head being held above the water by another struggling swimmer.

Lifeguards described the scene as “chaos with multiple people screaming for help,” Greene said in a report on the incident. One guard swam the unconscious victim to shore, while the other used the water craft to help as many people out of the current as he could, repeatedly towing them to shore.

More people were caught in the rip current and, with the aid of bystanders, as many as 19 people were rescued in about 10 minutes, Greene said. The unconscious person was revived and taken to a hospital, later released, and was expected to make a full recovery.


“I am confident they prevented what would have been multiple fatalities,” Greene said in her report.

In other California cities, for example in Monterey, state parks lifeguards provide aquatic services under a contract with the city, Greene said. The arrangement is similar to that under which the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department provides law enforcement services in cities such as San Marcos and Encinitas.

The northernmost coast of Carlsbad is private property, officials said, and that complicates the issue of who is responsible for public safety. Also, the state Coastal Act guarantees public access to at least the tidal area of the beach.

Other issues raised by residents include people bringing animals to the beach, drinking alcohol and building bonfires and the lack of public restrooms.


Even more people are likely to use the beach in the future. Carlsbad has had a series of public meetings in the past year to discuss plans to improve access to the area. Enhancements such as tiles, benches, signs and lighting are planned for the seven public stairways along Ocean Street down to the northern beach, a $2.5 million project.

“The more you make improvements, the more people will want to come,” Carlsbad Fire Chief Mike Davis said Thursday.

Davis agreed that the recent Fourth of July weekend was busy with a lot of rescues at the north Carlsbad beach, and complimented the state lifeguards on their work.

“That’s a great save,” the fire chief said.


The City Council has asked staffers to look into the possibility of providing lifeguards and and to consider other safety issues at the beach, Davis said. So far no date has been set for a discussion, and preparation could take some time.

“For a long time in the city, it wasn’t an issue because we just didn’t have a lot of people on that area of the beach,” he said. “As the city and North County have matured, all the beaches are busier.

“It’s a bigger picture” than just the lifeguards, Davis said. “It’s about the access, the relationship with the state, and keeping the area safe, accessible and well-maintained.”

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com