LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Paul lashed Mexico's Baja California peninsula with rain and winds on Tuesday and high waves slamming into a beach resort washed away a U.S. tourist who is presumed dead.

The military, police and civil protection workers began evacuating some 1,500 people from poorly built houses as the storm took aim at the Los Cabos resort, popular with foreign visitors for its golf courses, yachting and sports fishing.

A large wave swept away a U.S. tourist from Washington state who was walking on the beach at Los Cabos. "He is considered missing. It would be very difficult for him to be found alive," said firefighter Gabriel Garcia.

Paul faded to a tropical storm from a hurricane, with winds near 45 mph (75 kph).

The storm was about 130 miles southwest of Los Cabos and was expected on Wednesday to sweep close by the resort, made up of the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, before moving across the Sea of Cortez and hitting the mainland state of Sinaloa.

Authorities shut the Cabos San Lucas port, frustrating sports fishermen who converged on the resort this week for a major competition involving up to 200 boats.

"I hope we can fish tomorrow but we probably won't be able to. They don't want anybody getting thrown off their boats," said Dan Helzer, a retiree from California who was part of a fishing team on a boat called Black Gold.