The basics
• 158 towers
• 106 ocean lifeguard specialists, 34 captains, 16 rescue boat captains, six chiefs, three secretaries, two utility drivers. Staff is 4 percent female.
• 623 recurrent ocean lifeguards, 14 percent of whom are female.
• 56 vehicles
• 72 miles of coastline
• 32 miles of beach
From the record book:
2005 statistics
• 6,258 rescues
• 2 drownings
• 342 resuscitations
• 19,927 medical aids
• 574 boat rescues
• 822 missing persons reunited with family
Most rescues
June 1981: 6,458
Most for a three-day weekend: June 27-29, 1981 — 1,190
Highest for a single day: June 28, 1981 — 1,295
Highest attendance:
1989: 60,259,880 visitors
Total drownings since 1989: 41
17-year average:
9,738 rescues
11,231 medical aids
901 boat rescues
1,539 missing persons
525 resuscitations
2.4 drownings
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 29, 2006. Read the original PDF.