Record number of illegal fireworks

Jenny Marder

Illegal fireworks illuminated the sky over Downtown Huntington Beach

this year, the first Fourth of July in decades that the city did not

put on a public fireworks display.

The Fire Department confiscated roughly 45,000 firecrackers, about

seven times as much as the 6,500 rounded up in 2002, Fire Chief Duane

Olson said. These are only the ones that were discovered and not set

off.

“It was a concerted effort, really a team effort on the part of

police and fire departments to try and manage illegal fireworks,”

Olson said.

But the Fire Department simply didn’t have enough resources to

control the rowdy revelers who wanted to see the sky alight.

Olson did not want to speculate as to the cause, but only one

thing has changed since last year, when the problem was not as

severe, he said.

“The only thing that changed [since last year] is that we had no

public display of fireworks,” Olson said.

Despite thousands upon thousands of mini-explosions, Olson said

there were no injuries reported and only one rooftop fire, which was

extinguished with little damage.

Teams made up of arson investigators and police officers patrolled

the city all night trying to confiscate the fireworks they considered

the most dangerous or that, in the past, have lead to the most

injuries. These include bottle rockets, mortars and M-80s.

Officials have been known to turn a blind eye to fireworks

considered “safe and sane,” such as fountains, snakes and sparklers.

From midnight Friday to midnight Sunday, police arrested 90

people. Of these arrests, 43 occurred between noon Friday and 6 a.m.

Saturday. Twelve were for public drunkenness, 10 for narcotics violations and five for drunk driving.

This is not a lot compared to years in the past, Huntington Beach

Police Lt. Gary Meza said. The Fourth was a fairly tranquil holiday

for police officials this year, he said.

“It was a pretty normal weekend for Huntington,” Meza said. “It

was just a typical busy summer weekend.”

Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 people swarmed the streets during the

parade, Meza said, a number far lower than the 250,000 that the

parade committee boasts, but high enough to cram the sidewalks with

bodies, blankets, folding chairs and family pets.

With scorching sun, packed beaches and numerous rip currents,

lifeguards also had their hands full.

More than 228,000 people visited Huntington’s city beaches over

the three-day weekend. On the Fourth, parking lots between Beach

Boulevard and Huntington Street were full by 9:30 a.m., and

three-quarters of the fire rings were taken before 6:30 a.m.

Lifeguards at the city beach made 146 rescues, responded to 31

calls for major medical aid and reported 31 instances of lost

children throughout the weekend. There were also 139 jellyfish

stings.

It was a busy Fourth of July weekend, Marine Safety Lt. Mike

Baumgartner said. But despite the crowds, the crammed parking lots,

the packed beaches and the fierce surf, conditions at the beaches

were safe overall, with no major incidents.

“Our activity level is based on a couple factors beyond control,”

Baumgartner said, citing weather and the size and intensity of the

surf as factors. “We had big surf, nice weather, a lot of people

coming in ... . This is a lot more activity than we would normally

have on a weekend in the summertime.”

Mike Brousard, the lifeguard program supervisor at Huntington

State Beach, said this year was much busier than the last. The state

beach reported 546 rescues, 92 lost children and 15 major first aids.

“It was just as nuts as it gets,” Brousard said. “There were so

many people here, it boggled the mind.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at [email protected].