Despite concerns, fireworks go on sale

Wednesday was the first day of fireworks sales leading up to the Fourth of July holiday. This year, 35 booths around town are peddling the explosive novelties, up from 32 last year.

Sales will continue from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Friday and then 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

The booths are mostly run by youth sports, academic and extracurricular organizations that split the proceeds with the fireworks companies that supply the booths and the products.

Costa Mesa is one of the few cities in Orange County to allow fireworks, and for years a faction of concerned residents has called for fireworks sales and use to be limited or eliminated.

This year was no different as the council, at the urging of Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, considered charging the nonprofits that operated booths to pay for extra police and fire enforcement and paving the way for steeper fines for fireworks abusers.

The council shot down those suggestions, but opted for extra safety-awareness efforts.

Many area schools, youth sports organizations and other nonprofits are happy they are still allowed to sell fireworks. For some of them, fireworks are their only annual fundraiser. For others, it’s the most lucrative.

“This is our biggest fundraiser. It’s the majority of the support for band and color guard for the year,” said Laura Telles, who manages the booth for Costa Mesa High School’s band on Harbor Boulevard and Baker Street.

The money the band raises allows it to pay for fees and instruments for students who would otherwise have a difficult time affording them and helps send the band to tournaments and pays to repair instruments. The band does other fundraisers throughout the year — running a snack bar during events and also selling popcorn, candy and coupon books — but none of those ventures brings in nearly as much cash, Telles said. She said it would be “catastrophic” for the program if fireworks sales ended.

Less than 100 yards away, the Newport Harbor High School girls’ basketball team and Vanguard University’s women’s softball team split a competing booth. A steady stream of customers trickled in during the lunch hour.

For both teams, fireworks sales mean much-needed equipment and a boost to travel funding.

“Because of the budget cuts we really didn’t have money for uniforms,” said Vanguard coach Beth Renkoski, but fireworks sales financed them.

One Newport Harbor booster said that she thought fireworks were dangerous and would prefer to see money raised in a different way, but it was hard to find another fundraiser as effective.