L.A County Fails Weather Hazard Test

Mid-westerners know the signs well. Dark clouds overhead. A damp, electric smell in the air. Cool winds seemingly coming from everywhere. A thunderstorm is building overhead. Lightning will inevitably follow. Golfers know, and run for cover at the first clap of thunder in the distance. But not in L.A., where the sun is shining all the time. We are weather-ignorant. But our County Beaches and Harbors Department should not be.

Two men were gravely injured today; one died, and dozens given a pretty good scare when a lightning bolt hit the surf zone at Venice beach. It never should have happened. Even I, an L.A. native, knew there was a good chance when I watched the local TV news at 7 AM this morning. A large thunderstorm cell in northern Baja was clearly heading our way, according to the station’s fancy “Doppler” radar animation. By 2 PM we had already taken cover in Playa Vista as the rain interrupted our outdoor lunch, and that telltale electric smell filled the air.

Meanwhile, thousands frolicked at the local beach, as they do every Sunday. The storm was heading their way. All it would have taken was a call to county lifeguards to hoist their “No Swimming” flags, and to coax bathers out of the water, and tragedy could have been avoided.

Beachgoers pay hundreds of millions of dollars every year into county coffers for the privilege of parking near the shore. The money is well spent; dumping our garbage, cleaning the sand, rescuing untold swimmers from rip tides and “killer” sharks, and warning us of our own bacteria that could sicken us. But not warning us against lightning when the threat is obvious. Big oversight.

The bolt hit the surf zone and the electric current flowed freely through the highly conductive salt water, just like the sponge in the Green Mile, and into the men’s bodies. It might have been prevented. We’ll do better next time.