Fireworks will stay at high school

Bryce Alderton

Sparks flew in a debate over moving the fireworks back to the beach,

but in the end law enforcement concerns extinguished the notion.

City Council voted to keep the fireworks at the Huntington Beach High

School stadium, rather than move them back to the beach at Pier Plaza as

recommended by the Fourth of July Executive Board.

One of the executive board’s reasons for wanting to move the fireworks

was that this Independence Day would hold more meaning in the wake of

Sept. 11 and draw a larger crowd wanting to take part in patriotic

events.

The board claims that fireworks at the beach would attract more

families and not have unruly revelers causing mischief Downtown.

Fireworks haven’t been at the beach since the 1970s.

But Huntington Beach Police and Fire Departments are concerned with

parking and traffic jams caused by the influx of people to Downtown. They

said emergency response may be hampered if they have to get to an

accident victim.

“There could be tens of thousands of people down there with the

potential of lots of people getting hurt,” said Police Chief Ron

Lowenberg. “We might lose all positive ground we’ve gained in the past

years.”

The Fourth of July used to be the busiest day of the year for police,

who added extra staff in the 1990s to quell crowds that gathered on

Downtown streets. In some years rioters burned couches in city streets

and threw bottles and firecrackers at police. Police arrested as many as

600 people on past Independence days.

Police told City Council that an additional $60,000 would need to be

added to their budget to pay for the increased staff at the beach if the

fireworks were moved.

Ron Hagan, director of community services for the city, told council

that the cost of moving the fireworks to the beach would be an increase

of $100,000 from the current fireworks display.

So with safety and financial concerns cited as their reasons, City

Council rejected the idea of shooting fireworks off barges to the north

and south of the pier.

Council may revisit an idea posed by Hagan, that a possible return to

the beach may be planned for 2004, the 100th anniversary of the first

Fourth of July Celebration in Huntington Beach.