Vanessa Bull said she had just arrived at the beach with her children when her daughter, Mireina, was pulled into the water by a sneaker wave.
"We were taking the kids out to the water that day," Bull said. "Our GPS actually said that we would arrive at 3 p.m., and it happened at 3:15, so we had just got there from Sacramento with all the kids."
Bull said she did not know there were dangerous surf conditions in the area.
"I did not know at all, or I would not have taken my children out there," she said.
Bull said her daughter was suddenly pulled offshore.
"She was on top of like maybe I would say like a nine-foot wave," Bull said. "When I looked back and I just saw her head at the top, and I just ran and I jumped in and I tried my hardest to get her. But that wave that she was on top of came crashing down on me. And all of a sudden, I could not see her anymore."
Bull said she grabbed onto her daughter's sweater as more waves hit them.
"I grabbed her sweater, and then another wave, boom, came and threw us underwater, and we did a whole 360 flip underneath the water," Bull said. "But I just kept the tightest grip on her sweater so she was not going anywhere."
Bystanders eventually helped pull Bull and her daughter from the water before paramedics and San Francisco Fire Department crews arrived.
MORE: Mother, daughter in critical condition after being swept into Baker Beach by waves: SFFD
"I just remember handing her over, and then everything went black after that," Bull said. "I just went black, my body went limp. They had to come in the water and get me."
An eyewitness said the moments after the rescue were frightening.
"They got her on a stretcher and had a CPR thing on her face, and I heard them say she caught her breath," said Maria Flores, who witnessed the rescue.
Bull and her daughter were taken to the hospital. Both survived.
The rescue happened during a stretch of dangerous surf along the coast. Two weeks ago, two Bay Area college students died after being pulled into the water in Santa Cruz. In Pacifica, surveillance video also showed a fisherwoman being swept into the water last week.
A Beach Hazards Statement remained in effect for parts of the Bay Area coastline through Wednesday afternoon. However, Bull said those warnings are not always obvious to families or visitors walking onto the sand.
San Francisco Fire Department officials said the department responds to water rescues but does not have lifeguards stationed at city beaches.
"Last year we had over 200 different types of rescues," said Lt. Mariano Elias with SFFD.
Unlike many beaches in Southern California, San Francisco beaches such as Ocean Beach and Baker Beach do not have regular lifeguard towers. Officials say those beaches are treated as dangerous, nonswimming beaches.
The National Park Service, which primarily oversees the beaches, does have beach safety patrols during limited hours, according to SFFD. San Francisco Fire said it is the city's only 24hour water rescue agency.
MORE: Pacifica woman lives to tell story after surviving sneaker wave, urges caution along coast
SFFD urged beachgoers to stay alert near the water.
"Never turn your back on the ocean," Baxter said. "If you are going to have children with you, keep them within arm's reach. It can happen before you know it."
Bull said she wants to see more obvious warnings, flags, lifeguards or possible closures during dangerous surf conditions.
"I feel like beaches should be closed if the waves are like that," Bull said. "I am about to be 29. In my entire life, I have gone to the beach. I have never seen something like that before."
Bull said she is grateful she and her daughter survived, but said it may be a long time before they return to the ocean.
"I definitely do not plan on taking my kids to the ocean for a very long time," she said.
ABC7 Eyewitness News reached out to the National Park Service asking whether it would consider more visible warnings, flags or lifeguards at beaches like Baker Beach and Ocean Beach during dangerous surf. As of this report, NPS had not responded.