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The Mexican government built eight lifeguard towers in 2010 at the... (EDWIN MORALES/Contributed)

PLEASURE POINT — Among the torn roofs, toppled trees and beach-front shops blasted in June by Hurricane Carlotta, the city of Puerto Escondido, Mexico also lost all eight of its wooden lifeguard towers.
The town's powerful waves are some of the most popular in the surfing world — and it has been a frequent destination for many of Santa Cruz's big-wave riders. As a gesture of support, a handful of Santa Cruz surfers with ties to the break recently raised money to help rebuild the towers.
“I heard about it right away,” said Shawn Dollar, a Santa Cruz big-wave rider and longtime visitor to Puerto Escondido.
“I wanted to be able to contribute a good amount. I love those guys,” he said of the lifeguards. “I go down there and surf and they watch over me.”
Dollar, a Reef sales representative, held a sample sale of sandals and other items on June 30 in Pleasure Point. Ten percent of its proceeds went to the relief effort, and he raised $300.
Some people also kicked in $10 or more when they heard about the cause. A few surfers from Mexico who now live in Santa Cruz also showed up at the sale and thanked him.
“I told them what we were doing and they were stoked,” Dollar said.
Ken “Skindog” Collins, a fellow Santa Cruz big-wave rider, also pledged to match the $300 donation.
The yellow, wooden lifeguard stands are important because they make it easier to see surfers who wipe out or get caught in rip currents on the wide beach, supporters said.
Lifeguards often spot surfers from the towers and launch jet skis or slap on swim fins to save them.
Dollar said the Mexican government might have paid for the towers' reconstruction, but private funds would get them rebuilt faster. Supplies like lumber are available, so raising money was more important than donating materials.
Residents in the Mexican state of Oaxaca said the June 15 hurricane caught many off guard.
Two children died when a mudslide collapsed on their home elsewhere in the state, and a 56-year-old woman was killed after the storm flipped her car, according to the Associated Press.
When the storm reached land as a category 1 hurricane in Puerto Escondido, the wind toppled billboards and shattered windows. Homes were damaged by mudslides, and some areas lost power and water for days.
“Saturday morning was really sad and awful to see all kinds of people who had lost everything the night before,” photographer Edwin Morales wrote on Surfline.com.
“Hundreds of trees had fallen all over the town. Dogs were running like crazy, as if they were wild dogs on the streets. All (the) streets were still flooded. I can't even imagine how they were when the rain was at its strongest point on Friday night.”
Morales, who lives in Puerto Escondido, said the yellow wooden lifeguard towers were built in 2010 with public money.
Tuesday, he wrote in an email that construction is expected to start next week on a tower with money donated by big-wave rider Greg Long of San Clemente.
Long was nominated for a Billabong XXL Ride of the Year award this year for a wave at Puerto Escondido. In 2009, he won the award and $50,000.
Several websites have sprouted up in recent weeks that claim to be raising money for the lifeguard towers, but Morales said there has been some questions about where the money is going.
Morales said there is no longer a public appeal for donations except for a Hurricane Carlotta Relief T-shirt designed by big-wave rider Derek Dunfee. Dunfee, of La Jolla, can be reached at derekdunfee@hotmail.com.
The Mexican Red Cross also is collecting donations for wider relief efforts in Puerto Escondido. Donations can be made online at www.cruzrojamexicana.org.
Follow Sentinel reporter Stephen Baxter on Twitter: @sbaxter_sc

HOW TO HELP
A public appeal for donations to rebuild the lifeguard towers in Puerto Escondido is finished, but the Mexican Red Cross is collecting money for a broader relief effort in the town.