Fireworks may go up in smoke

Dave Brooks

There will be some early fireworks at City Hall Monday, when police

and fire officials ask the City Council not to approve a display at

the beach this Fourth of July.

Fire Chief Duane Olson, Police Chief Ken Small and Community

Services Director Jim Engle will ask the city not to approve a

fireworks display at Pier Plaza, citing concerns with gridlock caused

by tens of thousands of visitors trying to leave the event at the

same time.

“We spent months looking at various alternatives, but we couldn’t

come up with a solution,” said Small.

Olson did not return phone calls and Engle said he couldn’t

comment until the information had been disclosed to the council.

The recommendation has angered several residents, including Fourth

of July committee member Barry Williams, who is urging local

residents to petition the council in favor of keeping the fireworks

at the pier.

Last year’s celebration was a success for Downtown businesses, he

said, “then you come back and you let a bunch of firemen tell you

can’t have a successful celebration.”

“There’s risk involved in getting up in the morning,” he said.

“The sky could cave in and Humpty Dumpty might fall off the wall.”

The fireworks proposal is not yet a done deal, but Mayor Cathy

Green said the council is going to have a difficult time going

against the recommendation of the men and women who would provide

security for such events.

“If all the public safety people are recommending against it, I

probably wouldn’t support it,” she said. “It would be pretty hard if

police and fire came to me and said they were trying to protect the

people and then I voted against them.”

Last year was the first time Huntington Beach held fireworks at

the beach in nearly three decades, shooting off $50,000 in

pyrotechnics from a barge at sea. Logistical problems hampered the

event, which was put on through private fundraising. An undisclosed

corporate sponsor offered to pay for this year’s celebration and

coordinate it with a similar event in Seattle, Williams said.

If the beach proposal is rejected, fireworks may be held at

Huntington Beach High School, where they were moved in the 1970s

because of fog. In January 2004, former Councilwoman Pam Houchen

recommended moving the fireworks back to the beach, arguing that

Huntington Beach had outgrown its tumultuous past. After much debate,

the move passed 5 to 2, with several council members arguing they

would allow it once to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the

parade.

Small said the fireworks celebration was a success and that there

were no serious problems.

“I don’t want anyone to think the recommendation has anything to

do with what happened in the past,” he said.

Instead, he is worried that Pacific Coast Highway and the

surrounding streets will become so gridlocked with people trying to

leave the event, police and fire personnel won’t be able to respond

if an emergency occurs.

“What if someone shoots off a firework and it lands on rooftop and

a building or house catches fire,” he said. “No one’s going to want

to wait 15 minutes if their place is burning down.”

Norm “Firecracker” Westwell -- who earned his moniker fighting for

fireworks -- said he’ll oppose the public safety recommendation.

“Every other city can have firework celebrations but we can’t,” he

said. “The word ‘beach’ is in our name, but we want to hold it at the

high school. Any other community would have it at a water-front

location.”