Country Scene Closes Out 2-Day Music Festival on a High Note

A crowd estimated at more than 100,000 jammed into Hansen Dam Recreation Area Sunday on the second and last day of the Los Angeles Country Scene Festival, and police again reported no significant trouble at the country-music hoedown.

“We’ve let them come in and do their thing, and they’ve been orderly and patient,” Los Angeles Police Capt. William Pruitt said.

The sole arrest of the day occurred after a man, whose name was not disclosed, fired several shots from an automatic pistol at another man, Pruitt said. No one was wounded. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the captain said.

Red Cross officials treated 69 people for minor injuries ranging from upset stomachs to twisted ankles, said Gary Berger, chairman of first-aid services. “For the number of people here, this is a very small number of people needing treatment,” he said.

Streets were jam-packed as the revelers edged toward Hansen Dam in their cars. At 11:35 a.m., parking lots surrounding the concert were full, and heavy traffic was reported on the eastbound Foothill Freeway at Osborne Street, said Officer Kent Buzbee of the California Highway Patrol.

Festival officials at that time requested all additional spectators to walk or use a shuttle bus that was running along Foothill Boulevard, Buzbee said.

Despite the traffic and the crowds, many people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“I used to think of country as a bunch of rednecks wearing cowboy boots and silver belt buckles, getting into fights,” said Mitch Shane, 29, of Rancho Cucamonga, who brought his 18-month-old son. “But I’m finding out today that that’s not the case.”