A young girl gets buried in the sand, but is rescued.
The Malibu Times Staff
As is the case annually, Malibu’s beaches were a popular destination for residents and visitors during the long Labor Day weekend. An estimated 360,400 people enjoyed Malibu’s sand and ocean water, according to Los Angeles County lifeguard officials. It was a weekend mostly free of major incidents, Lifeguard Capt. Dan Atkins said.
Atkins said he did not have specific numbers available yet, but he estimated that beach attendance has been down overall this year. He blamed this on what he considered to be a relatively gloomy summer.
“It just seemed like Gloom June has turned into Gloom Summer,” Atkins said.
He referred to Monday as a day that started off cloudy, but turned into “nicest day of the year,” helping to attract a large number of people.
Monday was also the day the most significant rescue incident took place when a young girl, about 3 or 4, Atkins estimated, was buried in the sand. Atkins said she was out of sight from lifeguards because she was behind their stands when she fell into a four-foot hole in the sand. Her father tried to dig her out, and the lifeguards soon heard the commotion and rushed to the scene. They were able to rescue her and clear the girl’s airways. She was taken to a hospital. There is no word on her condition, although Atkins said she was doing well when she was transported.
“You’re not allowed to dig deep holes in the sand,” Atkins said. “But it is hard to enforce because lifeguards are watching the water. This incident shows why it is so dangerous to dig them.”
From Friday through Monday, there were 18 rescues, 114 incidents requiring first-aid response, 110 incidents needing emergency vehicles and 10 children went missing. They were all found.
Inland, a total of seven traffic collisions occurred in Malibu during the four-day period, with none considered serious, said Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s Capt. Phil Brooks, who is in charge of traffic. He said there were also three citations for people suspected of driving under the influence.
“It appeared like this was the same as any other holiday weekend in Malibu-everybody left town,” Brooks said of what he considered a quiet holiday weekend.
Two DUI checkpoints took place on Friday at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Cross Creek Road. One was conducted by the Malibu/Lost Hills station and the other by the general Sheriff’s Department. Both checkpoints were funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Nearly 1,600 vehicles travelled through the Lost Hills checkpoint. There were 1,304 vehicles stopped, leading to 15 citations, six vehicles impounded and one DUI arrest. Statistics were not immediately available on the Sheriff’s Department checkpoint.