Jax Beach lifeguards increase staff to keep up with crowds during record heat

Record high temperatures are driving crowds to the beach on New Year’s Day.

Jacksonville Beach lifeguards have had to increase staff to keep up.

They’ve stepped up their truck patrols and added an extra officer and extra lifeguard, according to Volunteer Lifesaving Corps Capt. Max Ervanian.

Ervanian said most beachgoers are staying out of the ocean, with water temperatures in the mid-60s.

He said there have been 3,000-4,000 people enjoying the 4.1-miles of Jacksonville Beach at any given time Tuesday.

“With the New Year as well, we are experiencing a lot more bathers and beachgoers attending the beach than you would even just three or four days ago,” Ervanian said.

It’s a lot of beachgoers for winter – a time when Jacksonville Beach usually reduces its lifeguard staff.

But Ervanian said it’s only about a third of the beach population Jax Beach sees on a typical summer day.

“The sun feels great,” beachgoer Brian Hartmann said.

Vacationer Alliyah Mundt said the record-breaking heat is a big change from Wisconsin: “It was a snowstorm when we left."

Jax Beach lifeguards helped one struggling swimmer Tuesday who was transported to a hospital.

They also helped reunite a frantic Neptune Beach mother with her child, according to Ervanian.

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