Laser Show, Parade and Fireworks to Spark July 4 Events

Events ranging from a children’s parade to a laser light show will accompany the traditional dazzle of fireworks displays across Ventura County this weekend as residents celebrate the nation’s 217th year of independence.

Fireworks shows will illuminate Sunday night skies in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Fillmore, Oxnard and Santa Paula.

The displays should not be interrupted by clouds or fog, according to forecasters, who predict cooler weather for the weekend and clear skies Sunday night.

The weekend’s first fireworks will be set off inside the Point Mugu Naval Base in a show closed to the public, but fireworks should be visible from Mugu Rock and nearby beaches tonight at 8:30.

The weekend finale will be an evening of fireworks, entertainment and a laser light show in Ojai planned Monday night.

“Ever since the 1950s, we have had the tradition that, if the Fourth falls on a Sunday, we would hold our celebration on Monday,” said Craig Walker, organizer of Ojai’s festivities. “Local churches had asked that we move the celebration so people could both worship and celebrate the holiday.”

As with many of the events throughout the county, Ojai’s celebration includes musical acts, food and entertainment, in addition to the fireworks show.

“We wanted it to be more than just an event where you brought your children, watched fireworks for 20 minutes, and then packed up and went home,” Walker said.

The Ojai event will have an admission fee, as will those in Camarillo, Fillmore, Oxnard and Simi Valley.

Budget cuts snuffed out plans for early morning fireworks in Ventura. The City Council voted June 14 to forgo the traditional 4:44 a.m. fireworks so the city could use the money to restore some proposed social service cuts.

“The truth is that those early fireworks were real tough to see through the fog,” said Gene Seitz, a service officer for the American Legion in Ventura. “It’s probably for the best.”

Seitz, along with other members of the American Legion, rallied off-duty police officers and firefighters to raise flags along Main Street in spite of the cuts because, Seitz said, “it would be inappropriate not to have the flags flying on the Fourth.”

For its part, the city will sponsor a children’s parade and daylong street festival on Main Street, which will begin Sunday morning at 10:30.

Events not sponsored by local cities include a display of vintage World War II aircraft by the Southern California wing of the Confederate Air Force at Camarillo Airport, a picnic and festivities at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley, a festival sponsored by the Santa Paula Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce at Veterans Memorial Park, and activities for children at the Pleasant Valley Cooperative Preschool in Camarillo.

For people interested in clearing out of town, it will be difficult to find area campgrounds that still have vacancies. The U. S. Forest Service reports that several campsites will be completely or partly closed because of a funding shortage.

In Los Padres National Forest, Blue Point Campground will be closed. Twelve campsites in Lion Campground will be open for use between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. And a 200-foot section of the Beaver Campground loop road will be fenced off to vehicular traffic. Motor homes and trailers are not recommended at Beaver, officials said. They also reminded campers that fireworks are prohibited in the national forest.

For the past few weeks, safety groups around the state have stepped up efforts to warn people about the dangers of fireworks, especially in the hands of children.

It is illegal to use fireworks in Ventura County without a license, and a statement from the Ventura County Fire Department said the ban includes sparklers, which “may seem harmless, but generate heat 1,800 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.” More than 12,000 injuries in 1991 were blamed on the use of illegal fireworks, according to the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Last year in Ventura County, fireworks sparked 17 fires that caused $353,000 in damage, the Fire Department statement noted.

“Because the danger of fire is so critical this year,” the statement added, “the Fire Department recommends that the public attend authorized public displays.”

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