Police closed Fiesta Island at one point to vehicle traffic because of crowds on July 4, 2024. NBC 7’s Dave Summers takes a look at what makes the spot popular.
More than 1 million people flocked to San Diego beaches for the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate the holiday while relaxing in the summer sun.
From crowd counts to water rescues, here's a look at the numbers from July 4 through July 7.
How many people spent Fourth of July weekend at San Diego beaches?
Locals and visitors from all over the world showed up early to get a spot at one of San Diego's beaches during the holiday weekend.
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By noon on July Fourth, San Diego police said all city beach parking lots had reached capacity.
The population of Fiesta Island, nestled in the center of east Mission Bay, looked to be the size of a small city on Independence Day, NBC 7's Dave Summers said. The island reached capacity and was closed to vehicle traffic by 2 p.m.
Here are the estimated crowd counts at city beaches, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department's Lifeguard Division:
- Thursday, July 4: 385,000
- Friday, July 5: 250,000
- Saturday, July 6: 275,000
- Sunday, July 7: 215,000
The estimated total amount of people who spent the Fourth of July weekend at San Diego beaches was 1,125,000.
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How many water rescues happened in San Diego during the Fourth of July weekend?
Lifeguards were on high alert during the Fourth of July weekend not just because of the big crowds but also because of the risks of rip currents.
There were 832 water rescues across San Diego beaches throughout the holiday weekend, SDFD said. Here's the breakdown by the day:
- Thursday, July 4: 371
- Friday, July 5: 194
- Saturday, July 6: 139
- Sunday, July 7: 128
How many boat inspections were there during the July Fourth weekend in San Diego?
- Thursday, July 4: 184
- Friday, July 5: 132
- Saturday, July 6: 131
- Sunday, July 7: 73
- Total: 520
Some people were also turned away from entering the water due to safety, equipment of regulation violations.
"This means individuals who were going to operate their vessels in an unsafe manner or those who didn't have the correct paperwork or California Boater Card were not in the mix on Mission Bay likely saving lives and injuries/collisions," SDFD said.
- Thursday, July 4: 21
- Friday, July 5: 26
- Saturday, July 6: 24
- Sunday, July 7: 24
- Total: 95
SDFD also said there were two cliff responses during the weekend and that a wake board accident on Mission Bay led to injuries.
