First responders urge caution along the coast as high surf warning looms

Now to our forecast, which includes a warning of potentially deadly conditions along the coast. We're looking live at San Francisco tonight towards Ocean Beach, where waves 15 to 20 feet tall are predicted through Friday before growing even larger over the weekend. KTVU's Zach Sauce is live at Ocean Beach tonight with more on that warning. Zach. And Claudine, the waves expected to be so big that some of the surfers I spoke to saying they'll simply stay at home over the weekend. Others that know this stretch of sand well, telling other swimmers to stay back from the water or skip the beach altogether. I think they should take it seriously. Especially in these currents, just don't even mess around with it. That's what we're hearing from experienced swimmers and first responders in the Bay Area after the National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement through Friday and high surf warning for the weekend, the agency adding any wrong move or stumble. Could turn deadly, so they should heed those warnings. Waves of 15 to 20 feet are predicted through Friday with the potential for them to grow to anywhere from 25 to 30 feet on Saturday. So Lieutenant Ken Smith of the San Francisco Fire Department is urging people to stay well back from the shore at Ocean Beach. Let's start off, you know. 200 yards back from the water during this event. Let's let's not go to the beach. Let's watch it on TV. Even advanced swimmers like him aren't taking any chances. I dive. I swim in the ocean. I'm not going nowhere near that water. Surfers like Mark Bitter says they'll also be sitting this one out. Not this weekend's swell. I mean, this is like historically large. Unless you're kind of surfing inside the San Francisco Bay, it's going to be Experts of experts only for swimmers. The extremely high surf and powerful rip currents could create a dangerous one two punch knocking people off their feet and pulling them out to sea. Even if you're kind of steady on your feet, it'll it'll swipe you and that's when tragedy can strike something. Chris Adams says she's witnessed far too often during her 30 years living along Ocean Beach. Just stay away if you're not an experienced ocean swimmer. I'm not an experienced ocean swimmer. Kids get swept away, adults get swept away, adults trying to save kids get swept away. If you don't have a wetsuit, fins, and experience, you really don't belong in the water. And again, the beach hazard statement in effect through 6 p.m. on Friday and that is when a high surf warning will go into effect. This is really something that first responders want people to take seriously. Claudine? Yeah, Zach, I think for people who aren't as familiar with the bay, on a good day, those sneaker waves and rip currents can make it very dangerous. And if you're hearing those surfers that you're talking to and people who are very familiar with that beach saying we're not even going to go, that is another level than what we usually see. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I want to be clear that surfer I spoke to was very experienced. And, you know, these are exactly the type of conditions that can be tempting for those types of surfers. But even he said it wasn't worth it. Yeah. Stay out of the water. Stay off the beach. Just be safe. All right. Thank you, Zach. And not just at surf spots there in San Francisco, San Mateo County, Marin County, meteorologist Roberta Gonzalez. You're tracking it all, man. These are big, 25, 30 feet. Historical times right here, especially at the Mavericks area, Pillar Point. And the experienced surfers I've been talking to, they say it's very difficult getting in. It's... Really difficult getting out because of the sneaker waves, because of the rip currents. In fact, let's get to it right now. Look how placid it appears to be in the Santa Cruz area right now at the seashore. We're picking up a wind now under five miles per hour, but looks can be deceiving. About 25 miles offshore, the Santa Cruz buoy reports a seven-foot... And that is building. We have nine foot just off the North Bay Coast there. And again, these waves will continue to build not only Thursday, but Friday. But the biggest, the biggest difference will be on Saturday when we see those waves and they will be increasing out of the west and northwest. These swells at 18 second intervals pounding on shore 30 feet. Those are like mountains there. Then a substantial drop on Sunday, but this is still pretty high for the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to that, we have a coastal flood advisory that remains in effect, and that's till Friday at 4 p.m. High tide, 7.1 feet Thursday morning into Thursday afternoon, 12:10. in the afternoon. So we've got a lot going on, primarily along the coast here. We're going to update you on this first system and the parade of storms behind it. That's coming up next time around. Okay. Thank you, Roberta.