Heat Sets No Records, but Surf Packs a Punch : Weather: Slight relief from triple-digit temperatures in sight. Hundreds in O.C. plucked from rip currents.

Southern Californians continued to swelter in triple-digit temperatures in many places Sunday, but for the first time in three days the heat did not reach record levels, and meteorologists said there may be some relief--though not much--by midweek.

The suffocating heat drew tens of thousands of people to Orange County beaches, where the dangerous combination of large surf--up to 10 and 12 feet at some beaches--and heavy rip currents prompted hundreds of surf rescues, more than twice the usual number, lifeguards said.

The National Weather Service reported Sunday that temperatures reached 92 degrees in Santa Ana, cooler than Saturday’s 100-degree temperature, which tied the city’s record high for that date. Temperatures also cooled slightly elsewhere, with 97 degrees at El Toro, 93 in Anaheim and 81 in Newport Beach.

Forecasters said Orange County can expect temperatures to drop another two to five degrees over the next few days, with mostly clear skies through Tuesday except for patchy late-night and early morning clouds and fog at the coast.

However, the slight respite Sunday provided little consolation to people who flocked to area beaches and kept lifeguards and rescue boats scrambling in the heavy surf and rip currents produced by a strong, south swell from tropical storms Ileana and John off Mexico.

In Laguna Beach, where an estimated 35,000 people mobbed the beaches, lifeguards made about 350 rescues, 100 alone at Main Beach, according to Scott Diederich, Laguna Beach marine safety officer.

“From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., we had 12 calls for medical aid for swimmers,” Diederich said. “This was for a variety of neck and back injuries and fractured ribs.”

More than 50,000 people visited Huntington State Beach, one of the county’s largest and most dangerous in terms of wave action, said Huntington State Beach Lifeguard Supervisor William Pfeiffer.

“Swimmers get in the water, and we really have a good side current of two to three knots pulling them into the rip and all that water is coming onshore and pushing out, pulling people out to sea,” Pfeiffer said.

Newport Beach lifeguards reported surf as high as 10 to 12 feet.

In Seal Beach, lifeguards took the special precaution of closing 100 yards of beach to swimmers immediately north of the city pier.

“We had a very inexperienced swimming crowd today, and then large surf and heavy rip currents,” said Andrew Seymour, Seal Beach director of parks, beaches, and recreation. “(The beach closure) was an unusual move, but it’s a safety precaution. Our rescue boat was working hard today.”

Seal Beach lifeguards had heavy duty on the city’s west-end beaches near the San Gabriel River, but a professional volleyball match held on the sand was watched by thousands of spectators who stayed out of the water.

Still, Seymour said some swimmers got towed by rip currents 200 yards from shore.

“It’s a long rescue caused by a combination of the outflow of the San Gabriel River plus the heavy surf,” Seymour said. “Our rescue boat was kept very busy plucking people from the surf. We also had to rescue about seven to eight surfers. Two of them left their surfboards.”

“That’s when you know you have a problem,” he added, “when you see someone in the water swimming away from their surfboard.”

Rough waves may force cancellation of a Dr. Pepper soft drink commercial scheduled to be filmed Tuesday, Seymour said. The commercial involves anchoring a barge several hundred feet from shore near 8th Street where fireworks would be detonated.

Meteorologist Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, said the two tropical storms are declining and the surf should “slack off in the next couple of days.”

Brack said the heat wave was caused by a very strong high pressure area over California that was blocking cooler marine air from coming inland. But as the week progresses, “skies should be clearing out somewhat,” he said, allowing temperatures to drop further.

Nevertheless, meteorologists were not ruling out a return to record highs.

“Unfortunately, I can’t promise much relief yet,” said Bruce Entwistle of the National Weather Service, predicting that temperatures “will bounce up and down a few degrees each day.”

In addition, the weather may become more humid, he said.

In San Bernardino County, more than 700 firefighters continued to fight two brush fires touched off by lightning Saturday. By midafternoon Sunday, the 1,800-acre fires north of Lake Arrowhead were reported 50% under control, with no injuries.

“Right now we are looking at the real hot weather and more thunderstorms coming,” said Tom Sensintaff, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, which was coordinating firefighting efforts.

A Hesperia family was hospitalized after they were struck by lightning under a tree during a storm at Hesperia Lake.

Firefighter Daren Brown said the lightning struck Leona Ellis, who was holding her 2 1/2-year-old daughter. “It ran through her, the baby and all the people who were around there,” Brown said.

Ellis, the child and the baby’s 55-year-old grandmother were in stable condition at San Bernardino County Medical Center on Sunday. Another daughter, two sons and another boy complained of a tingling feeling or loss of sensation and were hospitalized.

Safety officials advise against seeking shelter under trees during thunderstorms.

The hottest spots in Southern California on Sunday included Monrovia and Montebello, with highs of 103 degrees, Pasadena at 102 and San Bernardino, where the temperature reached 100 at the 3 p.m. measuring time.

Southern California Edison reported that in Orange County, about 1,100 customers experienced weekend service interruptions lasting from four hours to as long as 20 hours.

Chriss Brown, an Edison spokesman, said that work crews had been working since Friday repairing 110 failed transformers.

Summer Heat Tips

The American Red Cross offers the following tips to coping the effects of summer heat:

* Slow down and avoid strenuous outdoor activities

* Stay indoors as much as possible

* Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing

* Drink plenty of water

* Eat small meals throughout the day

* Avoid foods high in protein, which increases metabolic heat

* Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages

* Heat and Pets

* And don’t forget dogs and cats on those sweltering, summer days.

Sources: American Red Cross