A 24-year-old Fontana man drowned at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach on the evening of Monday, Aug. 3 after a multi-agency search that included Newport Beach lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and an Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter.

Laguna Beach Public Safety Dispatch received a 911 call at 7:28 p.m. reporting a male swimmer missing in the water, according to a news release from Laguna Beach Marine Safety Chief Kai Bond. A witness told rescuers the man had been swimming with a friend when both began struggling to stay above the water.

Newport Beach lifeguards, Laguna Beach public safety staff, the Coast Guard and a sheriff's helicopter all converged on Crescent Bay. The search took 45 minutes. At 8:13 p.m., the Laguna Beach Marine Safety dive team located the swimmer. He was transported to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was pronounced dead.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department identified the victim as Moustafa Gulzarzada of Fontana, according to SFGATE.

The drowning was the second off Laguna Beach this summer, the Orange County Register reported. The first involved a 5-year-old girl swept into the sea at Treasure Island Beach in June.

Newport Beach's mutual-aid role

The Aug. 3 response illustrates a role Newport Beach lifeguards regularly play beyond the city's own seven miles of shoreline. The Newport Beach Fire Department's 2022–2025 Strategic Plan lists "county and regional mutual aid and relationships" as a departmental strength, and the division provides automatic and mutual aid to outside agencies as requested.

This summer, NBFD Assistant Chief Brian O'Rourke said the division is fully staffed with 224 total lifeguards, including 96 assigned across towers, truck patrols and rescue boats, according to the Newport Beach Independent.

The deployment came during a summer marked by dangerous ocean conditions. On July 20, during a separate High Surf Advisory that prompted roughly 100 rescues in a single day, O'Rourke told KTLA: "Our lifeguards were very busy. They were rescuing a lot of people," Patch reported.

Newport Beach City Councilmember Erik Weigand underscored the stakes at the July 28 council meeting, proposing the city support federal legislation recognizing open-water lifeguards as first responders. "They are on the front lines every day and respond to all types of emergencies, yet they aren't officially recognized as first responders," Weigand told the Orange County Register.

The incident occurred amid an extended heat wave that drew large crowds to Southern California beaches, KTLA reported.

In 2024, Newport Beach lifeguards recorded 3,071 rescues across 8.5 million beach visits with zero fatalities on the city's own shores, according to the department's annual report.

Residents who witness a water emergency can call 911 or reach the NBFD Lifeguard Operations Division at (949) 644-3047.