Rivaled the Fourth, but It Was a Mistake : Newlyweds’ Party Explodes Into Grand, Glorious Fifth

By most accounts, the fireworks display at Cabrillo Beach this week was enough to prompt any patriot to unfurl the flag.

“It was comparable to the Fourth of July show they hold there,” said Sam Enriquez, who lives on a bluff overlooking the beach and, hence, found himself with a front-row seat free of charge.

But Enriquez wasn’t especially gratified. Nor were many of his neighbors who, like him, were startled when the pyrotechnics started exploding shortly after midnight Sunday, rousting some of them from bed and causing many to wonder if an enemy armada had invaded San Pedro Bay.

The unwitting enemy, it turned out, was the Los Angeles City Fire Department, and, more specifically, Capt. William Lebeck, who spent the better part of the daylight hours on Monday telling dozens of telephone callers that he had, well, made a big mistake.

‘Won’t Happen Again’

“We screwed up as far the time was concerned,” Lebeck explained. “I have no excuse for it and I’ll take the responsibility. . . . I promise you it won’t happen again.”

Fire Department officials said that the display was approved as part of a private wedding reception. The necessary permits were issued, a licensed pyrotechnist was scheduled to be on hand and the fireworks were approved. In short, everything was in order.

Except for one small detail. Lebeck said the fireworks company was given permission on its permit application to stage the show Aug. 4 at 11:30 p.m.--a rather late hour and a detail that escaped the attention of fire officials, who use their own discretion when deciding what time such shows should be permitted. To make matters worse, by the time the invited guests had been bused to the beach from the Bel-Air Hotel, where the wedding ceremony was held, Sunday had slipped into Monday. The show eventually started about 12:30 a.m.

“What happened is that it all went to heck,” said Fire Department Capt. James Chastain.

Like Shotgun Blasts

People started phoning the police; others phoned the Fire Department. Dogs howled. Enriquez, saying that the fireworks sounded like a series of shotgun blasts, told his wife to dial the county’s all-purpose emergency telephone number, 911. Lebeck, who lives in San Pedro, slept soundly through it all.

Not everyone was upset. Rick Leibert, whose production company staged the show, said some residents trooped down to the beach and joined the festivities. Others said they watched the display, which the Fire Department said lasted at least 15 minutes, through their windows or in their yards. Others, not especially perturbed by the whole thing, simply returned to bed after determining that they were safe.

“I wasn’t really in the mood to watch a fireworks show,” said Ron Greenspun, who lives near the beach.