SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Dramatic video of a 16-year-old lifeguard rushing into the waves off Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California, to rescue a young boy who'd been swept out to sea went around the world this week. The young lifeguard is named Ryder Williams, and President Trump says he wants to honor him at the White House. The video reminded many of some of the dangers that both beachgoers and lifeguards can face in the ocean. Pono Barnes is an ocean lifeguard captain at the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and he joins us now. Thank you so much for being with us.
PONO BARNES: Yeah. Thank you.
SIMON: You've been a lifeguard for almost 20 years. What goes through your mind when you need to make a rescue?
BARNES: Yeah. I think a lot of it is just we fall back on a lot of our training. And a lot of these rescues, for us at least, seem very routine. And as a lifeguard, when you're sitting in the tower and you're scanning your area, you're doing just continuous calculations in your head of when you need to intervene or when you need to go talk to that person. And it's not just that one person. It's all the people on your beach. And as maybe somebody - like, a member of the public, just looking up at the lifeguard - you're just looking at them. And you're like, oh wow. That must be nice. They're sitting in the sun and, you know, working on their tan or whatever. But that person is just - all day - doing those calculations and trying to figure out ways to triage all the little things that they need to do.
SIMON: Can I ask without being indiscreet? How many rescues do you have to make a week?
BARNES: It changes from day to day and conditions. Typically, in LA County, over the course of a weekend - a busy weekend - 300 to 500 rescues wouldn't be abnormal when all the factors come in alignment. Last weekend in Los Angeles County, we made 1,950 ocean rescues between Friday and Sunday.
SIMON: What advice might you have for swimmers who might get into a rip tide or something like that?
BARNES: Yeah. So I think the advice probably starts with actions you can take before you get stuck in a rip current. And that's just to swim in front of an open lifeguard tower. Step 2 is checking in with that lifeguard for current ocean conditions and hazards in that area. They can help you identify rip currents.
And then the next layer on that - if you get stuck in a rip current, the biggest piece of advice is to stay calm. Nothing is going to pull you under. The rip current is just going to pull you out to sea, just out past the surf line in most cases. Flip on your back and float, conserve your energy, wave your hands for help and try and draw attention to you. More often than not, we're probably already going to be on our way out to come get you. But then if you feel like you're strong enough to swim, you can swim parallel to shore and then back into the sand.
SIMON: Can I put you on the spot by asking if there are any especially memorable rescues you've had?
BARNES: Yeah. I would say there's standout days. This last weekend, Saturday would be, like, one of those standout days. But for me specifically, it was probably my third or fourth summer, and it was just one of those massive surf days. The water was really warm. The beach crowds were just maxed out. The parking lots were full at the beginning of the day. I remember biking over the little hill, and I kind of got a little overhead view of the beach.
And there was one lifeguard tower that was open already 'cause he was the early guy, and I didn't see his can hanging on the hook. And then I see, out the back, this huge rip current. And there's, like, five heads in it, and two rescue cans heading out toward him. And then I just start running across the sand with my backpack and my bike. And I'm, like, shedding my clothes and my gear, throwing it, like, kind of near my tower.
SIMON: Wow.
BARNES: I grab the rescue can. I'm in just, like, my civilian board shorts. I have my fins in my hand and jump in, start making my way out to help them. And then we grab everybody. The boat gets there - get a good accounting of all our patients. We get them on the boat. We take a few of them into the sand. The rescue kind of, like, settles and everyone's OK. And then I run up to the tower, kind of change out real quick 'cause there's more rescues happening down the beach. And then that day, I never returned to my tower again until, like, 7:30-ish at night. So, yeah. Just those days where you're just in the water all day making rescues with your buddies. And you go home absolutely exhausted, but you feel great.
SIMON: Yeah. It's a satisfying life?
BARNES: Absolutely. Some of the best office space you can find.
SIMON: (Laughter) Pono Barnes is an ocean lifeguard captain at the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Thanks for being here, and thanks for all the people you help.
BARNES: Absolutely. Happy to do it.
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