Cities Hope to Defuse Illicit Fireworks Risk

Police are stepping up efforts this Independence Day weekend to control a growing problem with illegal fireworks and the crowds that gather to see them.

In addition to putting most of their officers on patrol Sunday and Monday, some Orange County cities are taking such measures as closing parks as early as 5 p.m. the Fourth of July.

Garden Grove will further discourage park-goers by turning on sprinklers at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The measures are in response to a growing number of large gatherings that sell legal fireworks. Police say parks and other sites attract not only people who set off legal fireworks but serve as magnets for those who set off illegal versions, such as bottle rockets, M 80s and Roman candles.

In Orange County, only Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Stanton allow the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks, which are a fund-raising tool for clubs and community groups.

Increasingly, however, several of those cities have experienced a flood of visitors who come to their cities and cause problems, officials said.

“Where there is a huge congregation of people shooting off legal fireworks, it makes it easier to hide within the group and shoot off illegal stuff,” Buena Park Police Chief Gary Hicken said.

The large gatherings, often numbering several hundred, Hicken said, are inviting to people who celebrate by shooting guns into the air.

Buena Park police still cite the death of a 9-year-old boy who was killed July 4, 2002, as one of the sadder chapters in the city’s history. Xavier Morales of Anaheim was watching fireworks at Boisseranc Park and was struck by a small-caliber bullet.

“At least 400 to 500 people, probably more, most shooting off fireworks” were in the park that night, Hicken said. “The problem was most did not realize that the boy was even shot,” because of the noise.

Boisseranc and Bellis parks were closed at 10 p.m. the next Fourth of July. This year the city will close them and Larwin and Peak parks at 5 p.m.

“We’re not trying to keep people from coming to Buena Park,” Hicken said. “If they come to a stand and buy fireworks, they’re going to shoot them off. But the real problems occur with illegal fireworks.”

Garden Grove is closing 11 city parks at 7 p.m. and posted warnings that sprinklers will come on at that hour, Police Lt. Mike Handfield said. “We’ve had some very dangerous situations with the lighting of [illegal] fireworks,” he said.

The department will have most of its 160 officers on duty Sunday and Monday, he said, with 10 officers on overtime assigned to specific areas, including the Kmart parking lot at Euclid Street and Katella Avenue.

Handfield said the parking lot has become a favorite spot for illegal fireworks displays. “They set up chairs, tables and have a party,” he said.

The problems with crowds also occur in cities where fireworks are not allowed.

Newport Beach’s population grows from 78,000 to more than 150,000 on the Fourth of July, said Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

The Balboa Peninsula, a popular site for parties and bar-hopping, attracts the largest concentration of visitors, Shulman said.

About 200 officers, including 60 from the California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Department and other outside agencies, will be patrolling the streets Sunday.

Also, the areas where traditionally the largest number of people gather have been designated “safety enhancement zones” where fines for violations such as disturbing the peace and public intoxication will be three times what they normally are, Shulman said.

Parts of eastbound Balboa Avenue will be closed and parts of Seashore Drive will be closed to all traffic from noon Sunday to the early morning hours of Monday.

Huntington Beach, which will have a waterfront fireworks display for the first time since the 1970s, will hire extra police on the Fourth of July.

Fireworks displays there have drawn as many as 40,000 people to the beach and created traffic and safety problems, police said. Nine years ago more than 500 people were arrested while revelers ran amok.

The Huntington Beach display is among 26 public shows planned in Orange County. For more information, call the Orange County Fire Authority or check its website, www.ocfa.org.