San Francisco is a tourist mecca, of course, but many of those visitors don’t realize it’s one of the country’s most dangerous places for ocean swimming. Locals know of the 50-degree water and perilous riptides. Tourists think Baywatch.
“I wish I was joking when I say this, but many tourists really view the entire state of California as what they’ve seen on Baywatch,” says Jonathan Baxter, San Francisco Fire Department public information officer.
It’s one reason Baxter has used Twitter and Facebook to promote beach safety to visitors, and to encourage locals to call if they see anyone who might be in trouble. In the first six months of the effort, Baxter cites five confirmed cases of someone mentioning the social campaign when he or she called about a swimmer in trouble.