If you are a local and you see a beach hazard statement like this one:

You know immediately that the problem isn't just the waves of 14 to 18 feet high which can be very spectacular and beautiful and sometimes extreme surfers will ride these waves often using Jet skis to tow them into the waves to catch them  to make this possible. 

But, the problem often becomes not locals who understand the Pacific Ocean but tourists who don't understand the Pacific Ocean. Because you have 6000 miles across this ocean wind and storms can make the surf extremely tall and dangerous coming that far from the west or north or South  but usually from the north or west here in Northern California.

So, the problem for landlubbers is never taking your eyes off of the ocean if you go close to the ocean in times like these. Even me after living mostly within 10 to 20 miles of the ocean most of my life in California and Washington state I have been caught off guard not noticing sneaker or rogue waves which come in sometimes 100 feet or more than regular waves during storms higher than most other surf across beaches and rocks. Luckily I have never been pulled out to sea here in Northern California by a rogue or sneaker wave. However, I have had waves come up to my waist by accident when I wasn't looking close enough and almost dragged out to sea several times. It's always a rude awakening whenever this happens. But, tourists often don't understand any of this and take too many risks and then they are swept out to sea and never heard from again or are washed back to shore unconscious and sometimes dead from drowning.

It's the rogue or sneaker waves during winter and spring that kill the most tourists here on the northern California coast. The ocean water temperature is presently 52 degrees locally. This means that most people if pulled out by waves without a wet or dry suit to stay warm can survive without getting hypothermic about 10 minutes time. So, if they don't get back to shore without a wet or dry suit within 10 to 15 minutes they start hallucinating  from hypothermia and are usually lost at sea.