Here’s the thing about West Newport on the Fourth. It’s nuts. How can I even put into words the craziness that happens during this all-day, all-night drinkfest that is basically one big roving party with house after house of drunken madness going on?

I had a couple party people do it for me. Here’s what they called it:

“It’s Christmas for drunks.”

“Disorganized mayhem.”

“Controlled chaos.”

“Upscale Marti Gras.”

I strolled the streets of West Newport at about 3 p.m. to check out the scene, and house parties with people crammed onto patios like sardines were already in full force. The kegs and beers were flowing, guys scream at cute girls and vice versa, and everyone is going crazy.

“It’s one day of paradise today. Why can’t the beach be like this everyday?” asked longtime Newport resident Brighton Ellithorpe, 22.

“She needs a shot. Get her a shot,” he tells a friend as I’m talking to him.

Sadly, I’m on the job, and politely decline.

He proceeds to tell me how it’s done down here.

“You go house to house, shake some hands, pat some guys on the back … and you’re in the party,” he said. He was also rockin’ the 70s shorts that nearly passed for Speedos. Pretty awesome.

Speaking of Speedos, my favorite sight of the day had to be a guy on rollerblades, wearing a Speedo with red, white and blue stars and stripes, and a matching American Flag draped like a cape. He was also wearing a wig and a bike helmet. Quite the sight. He also fell over a wall and into a patio, and the entire party erupted in laughter around him.

“It’s a dream come true. Everyone is happy. You walk into someone’s house and they welcome you with open arms. It’s the best day in the world,” said Newport local Ryan Carter.

I’m sure there’s some who would dispute that.

I came across a mellow house, where Tamara Troenholm, 49, was hanging out with her husband and sister on their front deck. I asked them what it was like to be smack dab in the middle of all this mayhem, thinking that there has to be one person out here who can’t tolerate the madness.

“We love it. We live for it,” she said. “It’s relatively harmless. It’s a lot of fun for the young and the old.”

Even they started drinking by noon.

West Newport is considered the “Safety Enhancement Zone” by cops, and fines get hiked up three times the norm today.

Cops were traveling in packs of fours – you can’t help but feel a bit bad for them because you know they’re roasting in their uniforms and bullet proof vests. They were going to the house parties, and letting the homeowners know to keep things in control or they can contact the cops to help them out if needed.

They insist they don’t want to arrest people, just want to keep them safe.

“Everyone has been mellow so far,” said Sgt. Jay Short. “There’s a lot of people, but no problems. Hopefully, it will stay that way.”

I stopped in at City Hall to check in with the cops at their temporary command station. They have 200 cops on duty today, many from outside agencies such as Fullerton and Anaheim assisting.

One lady wearing a pretty pink dress was slumped over in a plastic chair and in handcuffs, and was taken away in the white Orange County Sherriff’s van.

So far, they had 12 arrests, which is normal for a day like today. By the end of the night last year, they had made about 100 arrests. I’m sure it will get uglier as the night goes on.

“Most people are friendly. Then there’s that group that drinks too much,” said Lt. Craig Fox. “They ruin it for others.”

Just as I’m about to split, another guy in cuffs is pulled in by cops. No shirt, and not happy about his situation.

I’d love to stay and watch it all go down, but I have to split down to hang with my family for a bit. Take it easy, and be careful if you’re out there tonight. .

– Laylan

2 p.m.

It was off to a slow start this morning, but things are getting nuts out here.

I stopped by the lifeguard headquarters in Newport Beach at about 11 a.m. to check in with Lifeguard Captain Rob Williams, who said they had only done about 15 to 20 rescues - pretty mellow compared to the 191 they did the previous day.

I also chatted with lifeguard Josh Bynum down in Laguna Beach this morning, who said they had a dramatic rescue yesterday. About 20 people were about waist high when a large set came in, pulling them out into a rip current.

“It was the largest set of the day,” he said. “People couldn’t get out,” he said.

They had four nearby lifeguards jump in for the rescue, and regular beachgoers were helping to pull in the victims from the shallow water as they came in. It was the biggest rescue Bynum had seen in the past 10 years.

The surf has gone down a bit since yesterday, but it’s still strong at 2 - 4 feet here in Newport. Not a lot of people were getting in the water this morning because of the overcast skies that loomed until about 1 p.m.

“Does the sun eventually come out?” Becky Castro asked me while shivering on the pier. “I wanted to come out and get a tan, but you’re looking at thick overcast. I don’t even see a break in the clouds.”

Videographer Greg Magnus and I jumped on a rescue boat for about an hour to try to capture some action. The boat pulled up to one rescue scene, where two girls had been swimming near the edge of a rip current and were knocked down by a strong wave, and were suddenly sucked in. One girl got out, but the other started struggling.

“You could see her panicking, she wasn’t going anywhere,” said Lifeguard Captain Brent Jacobsen.

They were close enough on shore for the lifeguards stationed on the beach to come out for the rescue. All was pretty slow, until we got off the boat of course — we watched from the pier as the rescue boat pulled three people on board who got stuck in a rip.

After getting off the boat and back on dry land, the party had started on the beach. Those trying to get to the sand were out of luck.

“How long have you been waiting here?” I asked a very frustrated Angela Gonzales, who sat in a long line of cars going nowhere in the beach parking lot.

“Forever,” she replied. “I’m going home right now.”

If you’re planning on coming down today, I would say it’s too late. Parking is pretty much gone. If you’re willing to drop some cash, I did see one lot earlier that was charging $50.

Next year, Gonzales should do like Eric Rankin, who got to the lot at 5:30 a.m. to nab a beachfront location. Then he rode his bike back to his Costa Mesa home.

The Rankin family usually heads out of town, and in 24 years of living here, this is the first time they’ve been out here on Fourth of July.

“I finally said, ‘we have to experience it’,” she said. “It’s insane, but it’s ok. Once a year to do it is OK.”

As we walked toward West Newport, there was no mistake we were headed toward the party zone. The boardwalk along the beach was packed with bikes nearly crashing into each other, guys on bikes honked horns at hot girls, and the booze was flowing.

Rachel Steen, visiting a friend’s beachfront home in Newport, already had a Grey Goose soda with a twist of grapefruit by 1 p.m.

“Everybody just wants to have a good time,” she said.

So I’m planted down at a friend’s house, Tom Cozad of Newportsurfshots.com, in the middle of West Newport’s party scene. I can hear the music blaring, partiers screaming, and the cop sirens blaring. It could get ugly.

Time to head out there for a bit. Be back about 5 p.m. to report.

–Laylan

10:10 a.m.

It’s already a mess down here.

The overcast hasn’t even burned off yet, and the parking is already scarce here in Newport Beach with car after car sitting bumper-to-bumper waiting to nab a parking spot.

I circled for about 45 minutes before major frustration started sitting in, and I dropped $20 for an all- day parking spot.

Pretty much all the beachfront parking is gone already, so if you’re coming down here, throw on the walking shoes.

The Bolsa Chica State Beach parking lot has already been blocked off, and when I was driving down Brookhurst, cars were lining Pacific Coast Highway to get into the lot at Huntington State Beach.

If you’re headed to a beach today, be warned that the surf is strong today. The waves can fool you - they aren’t big enough to keep people out of the water, but they will work you if you aren’t familiar with the ocean. Forecasters were calling for swells expected at 3 to 5 feet, with some spots like Huntington Beach getting 4 - 6 foot sets and occasional 7 footers.

I’ve been talking with lifeguards throughout the week, and they’ve done hundreds of rescues because of strong rip currents.

If you aren’t familiar with rips, here’s an interactive to how they work.

Down in Laguna Beach, lifeguard Kai Bond said they were already slammed with calls.

“It’s busy, busy, busy,” he said. “It’s under control, but there’s a lot of people on the beach.”

I’ll be back about 2 p.m. to let you know how lifeguards are handling the rescues, and around 4 p.m. to let you know what’s going on in West Newport, known for its crazy party scene. The trash cans and port-a-potties are already set up.

To see updates on weather throughout the day, check out Sciencedude’s blog.

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