The History of the Los Angeles

County Lake Lifeguards

The story begins at the mud-springs near an old adobe built in 1888 as a stop for settlers, soldiers, stages and adventurers during the times when cattle and sheep grazed across what is now San Dimas, California.  An early surveyor, William Mount identified this as an ideal site for a natural reservoir in 1890. He called the place “Pudding Hole.” suitable to the rock formations in the area. J. H. Adams of Covina claimed that “God almighty has built this reservoir for the people…” By 1928 Puddingstone Dam was dedicated and the Lake filled from the stream that ran down from San Dimas Canyon.

The new lake became an instant attraction for local residents with its newly created shorelines and coves. In 1931, the Department of Recreation, Camps & Playgrounds (now Parks and Recreation) assigned Lifeguards to protect bathers and instruct swimmers.  Over 7000 persons a month went to the reservoir that first summer.

Throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s a small crew of Lifeguards safeguarded a buoyed-off a section of water along the face of the dam.  A Lifeguard tower was mounted on a floating section of dock along the swim line.  There was also a floating platform in the middle of the swim area with a diving board.  The Lifeguards worked out of a small cabin on the north side of the dam and had a small powerboat. They called themselves the “$1.00 an hour men,” written on the first page of their 1944 log book.

In the 1950’s the Lifeguards service expanded to include a 16 foot patrol boat and a floating boathouse attached to the dam-wall. A major challenge was the continual and unpredictable changes in the lake water level. In those days the Lifeguards used an “angels’ flight” approach by having tilted Lifeguard towers built on skids, which could be slid up-and-down the face of the dam as the water level changed.  There are stories of numerous rescues in those days as the concrete dam was very steep and swimmers often found themselves struggling to hold on to the algae-covered wall only to slide down under the water.  Frank Brown recalled a time when he had to follow scratch marks from the person’s fingers all the way down to the bottom to locate and rescue his victim!

In the 1960’s a “wading area” existed on the east side of the lake using a more standard-style lifeguard tower.  The Lifeguards also added more boats such as the “Pudd-Queen” and other patrol boats that utilized a jet drive for working better in the shallow muddy areas.  Power boating and water skiing became extremely popular in the 1960’s with the “cracker box” style racing boats, and low profile boats with “stacks.” The jet-ski (PWC) had not appeared yet, but when they arrived in the early 1980’s they added a whole new dimension to the Lifeguards’ role in recreational boating.

In the 1970’s swimming was discontinued on the side of the dam, and a “Swim Park” was created on the downstream side of the dam.  This new modern facility sported a sandy beach, sand bottom, chlorine system, mounted Lifeguard towers and tropical landscaping, making San Dimas “hottest beach” in the Inland Empire!  This facility was eventually contracted out by the county in 1983 and is now the site of the Raging Waters water park.

In 1969 the Department of Beaches and Harbors was formed and many of the Lifeguards such as Bob Moore, Craig Koch, and Shelly Butler opted to move on to the new mega-department.  Others like Frank Brown & Riley Quayle stayed with Parks & Recreation, continuing their beloved endless summers at “the lake.”

 In 1972 Castaic Lake State Recreation Area opened and some of those who stayed on with Parks and Recreation had the unique opportunity to start a new Lifeguard service at the sparkling 2400 acre lake, with its* 32 miles of shoreline.  By 1975 the Lifeguards had assumed the rescue boat operations from the LACo Harbor Patrol.  They now had a fleet of patrol boats including two Skip-Jacks and a Boston Whaler.  In addition, they manned the three swim beaches on the after-bay expanding their summer staff to over 100 Lifeguards. 

At Castaic, Lifeguards on several occasions have been able to respond to a scene of a drowning, scuba dive off of the rescue boat, retrieve a lifeless victim in 70 feet of water, and give CPR, O2 and defibrillation, bringing them back to life in less than 10 minutes.  This is a good justification of why highly-trained multi-faceted Lifeguards need to be the primary patrol entity in any large body of water.

In 1978 Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area was completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.  Lee Cutler from Castaic Lake volunteered to commission Santa Fe Dam’s first Lifeguard service.  One can only imagine how satisfying it must have been to start a new Lifeguard service with a brand new truck, boat, beach, towers, staff and equipment.  Today, Santa Fe Dam is one of the busiest flat-water beaches in the county.  Lifeguards also have a fully equipped swift-water rescue team who frequently respond to the San Gabriel River that flows from the foothills into the dam and below.  They were inducted into the LACo Multi Agency Swift Water Rescue Task Force in 1997.

Today, the Lake Lifeguards are USLA certified, and have evolved into a State-of-the-Art Rescue and Law Enforcement Agency.  They now have 22 rescue boats as well as 4WD rescue trucks and a Mountain Bike Patrol. They have training curriculum of over 800 hours that encompasses both lifesaving and law enforcement.  This summer they christened their new 22’ Radon fireboat at Castaic Lake which bolsters their marine firefighting capabilities. They have a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program and their Junior Lifeguard Program(s) averages over 500 participants per year.

There are 26 permanent positions, 18 Senior Lake Lifeguard positions and 200 Lake Lifeguard positions.

Last year the LACo Lake Lifeguards made 667 swim rescues, 2938 vessel rescue/assists, wrote 96 citations and made eight arrests.

Articles and Items of Interest:

A special thanks to the San Dimas Historical Society and Captain Shelly Butler for their generous assistance and photographs.

Website compiled by Jim Hughes . Comments and contributions are welcome!