Labor Day beach conditions on Tybee Island

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Plenty of people are spending their Labor Day at the beach, but lifeguards on both Hilton Head and Tybee Island are flying red flags because of dangerous surf conditions.

Tybee Island also has fewer lifeguards for the rest of the season now that students are back in school.

WTOC’s Bronte Sorotsky joined us live from Tybee Island with a look at beach conditions Monday afternoon.

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She said out on the beach you can see just how strong the wind is, creating dangerous surf conditions.

Lifeguards have been patrolling the beach all day—and say that over the weekend they rescued two people in the water near the pier.

They emphasize that this will likely be their last weekend with lifeguards in the towers.

After Monday, they’ll be in roving beach vehicles until the end of the season— which hasn’t been determined yet.

With fewer lifeguards patrolling the beaches, they say anyone heading into the water should be swimming close to North Beach and the pier to ensure they’re close to a lifeguard.

“We’ll be roving vehicles and if you see one of us just flag us down. We won’t be sitting in the towers, but we will be out on the beach with minimal staffing, but we will be out here,” said lifeguard supervisor, Jarret Hornick.

He says with fewer lifeguards for the rest of the season be extra cautious in the water and on days like Labor Day, don’t go out, especially if you’re not a strong swimmer.

“If you know you’re not a strong swimmer, just don’t even go out or just go out to your knees. And if the waters are rough like they’re at today, I recommend not going out at all,” said Hornick.

In the event of an emergency, always call 911, and a lifeguard will be dispatched to your area.