Fourth Goes Forth Peacefully

Under the gaze of a heavy police presence, a smaller-than-usual crowd of revelers gathered in Huntington Beach on Sunday to peacefully celebrate the Fourth of July beach-style, worrying more about their tans than a repeat of past years’ clashes with authorities.

As a warm ocean breeze occasionally unfurled limp national flags along Main Street, hundreds of officers blocked off roads around downtown, cruised quiet back streets and kept watch over the city’s beaches. And, for a fourth straight year, Surf City celebrated Independence Day without a repeat of the violent scenes that marred events in 1994 and 1995.

Then, drunken revelers set furniture ablaze and pelted police with firecrackers. But as of early Sunday evening, arrests were down over previous years, and city streets teemed with families and tattoo-marked youths concentrating on having a good time.

“We’re having as quiet a Fourth of July as we’ve ever had,” said Huntington Beach Police Lt. Dan Johnson.

The quiet scene--which some attributed to the controversially large police contingent--was mirrored around the county, where police reported no major incidents beyond the annual Tom-and-Jerry chases with youngsters setting off fireworks.

In Newport Beach, where more than 200 police officers patrolled the streets, fewer than two dozen people had been arrested by 6 p.m.

“It’s pretty quiet,” Newport Beach Police Lt. Don Chandler said.

“Quiet” may have been an understatement.

Bicycle riders, in-line skaters, skateboarders and hordes of teen-agers strolled up and down Balboa Boulevard on the peninsula in Newport Beach, creating a party-like atmosphere late Sunday night. Many adults carried tell-tale bottles and cans in brown paper bags, while other revelers stood on rooftops, hooting and hollering.

But police lined the street too and there were no signs of trouble late Sunday night. Heavy traffic made it slow-going for some ambulance drivers seen struggling to wind their way through traffic.

Next door, in Huntington Beach, police said more than 100,000 people crammed the city’s streets in the morning to catch a glimpse of the annual Fourth of July parade.

But by midafternoon, the crowd thinned out. About 50,000 people--down from the usual Independence Day attendance of about 70,000--lay sunning themselves on the city’s beach, according to Huntington Beach Marine and Safety Department Lt. Steve Davidson.

“I guess a lot of people went to Las Vegas,” he said with a shrug.

That was good news for people searching for a spot to park a pale body, or for those bent on a stroll along the bike path or a game of beach volleyball.

“The courts are usually really full this time of day,” said Daren Jenner, as he stood before a dozen empty courts. “The volleyball crowd must be inside partying.”

By 11 p.m., police had arrested 53 people, mostly for being drunk in public. That figure is about half the people arrested last Independence Day.

“That’s real low,” said Lt. Chuck Thomas. “That’s consistent with any other Sunday of the year.”

The added police presence was credited with keeping a lid on out-of-control revelers. But not everyone was happy about it.

More than a week before the event, copies of a satirical flier mocking the heavy police preparations were pushed through some residents’ mailboxes. The flier warned: “Because of the apathy of the citizens and dedicated efforts of our Police Force, No One Will Have a Good Time [on July 4].”

Some people out on Sunday echoed the flier’s sentiments.

“The cops have put a real dampener on everything,” said Steve Terzino as he walked his neighbor’s dog, Ruby, along the bike path. He said many of his friends had left town rather than risk getting into trouble for partying at home.

“It’s a police state,” he said. “I understand that there are some knuckleheads, so you’ve got to clamp down. But they’ve gone too far.”

Just as Terzino was speaking, an officer approached him and asked him to take the dog away from the bike path, adding that he otherwise risked being cited.

“See what I mean!” Terzino said as he walked away. “I can’t even walk my dog.”

While dogs were not allowed on the bike path, there were no provisions banning lizards. That was good news for Leonard Perez, who stood watching a beach volleyball game as Dragonian, a 3-foot-long iguana, clung to his T-shirt.

“He loves the beach,” Perez said while removing a couple of peeling scales from the sun-baked lizard.

Thomas conceded that publicity surrounding the police response to previous years’ events might have kept people away this year.

“It could be true,” Thomas said. “Our experience is that the people who stay away for those reasons, we’d prefer them to stay away.”

Others who made the trip to the beach community were determined to have a good time and said the police presence was helping make the past disturbances a distant memory.

“They’re in full force,” said Dave Stewart, who drove down from Cerritos and was playing patty-cake on the beach with his 6-year-old daughter, Nancy Ruth. “You’ve gotta have them.”

Roger and Betty McGavin of Mission Viejo parked their RV in a beach parking lot and were preparing to fire up a grill to entertain some friends. Neither had celebrated Independence Day in Huntington Beach before, but both said they knew of past disturbances.

“Right after it happened, we wouldn’t have come down here, that’s for sure,” Betty McGavin said. “But it’s not a problem now.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Holiday Closings

Sunday was Independence Day, but many offices will be closed and some services affected today as well. The following schedules will be in effect today:

* City, county, state and federal offices will be closed, except Garden Grove, which will be open.

* County, state and federal courthouses will be closed.

* City and county libraries will be closed.

* Banks and savings and loans will be closed.

* Schools: There will be no classes at Orange County public schools. Community colleges, UC Irvine, Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton will also be closed.

* Mail: There will be no mail delivery. All post offices will be closed, and mail deposited in drop boxes will be picked up according to the posted holiday schedule.

* Trash: Trash collection will take place on its regular schedule except in those communities served by Waste Management of Orange County. They include Laguna Beach, parts of Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Irvine, Orange and Tustin. In those places, collection will be a day late.

* Buses: Orange County Transportation Authority buses will run on Sunday schedule. Buses will run less frequently and some routes will not be operating at all.

* Metrolink: Trains will not be running.

* Parks: All city- and county-run parks and recreation facilities will be open during regular hours.