Despite LA County ban, Lancaster mayor says fireworks show still a go, even if he has to flip switch
Despite urging from Gov. Gavin Newsom and a ban on public fireworks shows across Los Angeles County, the mayor of Lancaster maintained his pledge Thursday that his city will stage July 4 pyrotechnics — even if he has to flip the switch on the display himself.
Amid rising numbers of new virus cases and hospitalizations, Newsom tightened up “Safer at Home” restrictions on Wednesday. His orders including banning indoor dining at restaurants in some counties and urging communities to take their own steps, such as closing beaches. As part of that announcement, the governor urged communities to cancel public fireworks displays, a decree that LA County officials had already issued.
But as of Thursday, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris stood firm on his pledge to display fireworks over the city and vowed that the show would be safe. Though the event appeared to be in flux, Parris said the city had locked in an out-of-state vendor and that there was a roughly 80% chance the show would happen.
When the event was originally announced, Parris said the city would prohibit people from crowding at the city’s fairgrounds or parking lots; people were encouraged to watch the 9 p.m. display from inside their cars or from surrounding areas while practicing social spacing. On Thursday, Parris said he was looking to move the pyrotechnics away from publicly owned spaces to a private site.
Officials from one company the city spoke with grew reluctant to activate the show, Parris said, over concern the state might pull the its license. Parris responded that he’d flip the switch himself, if necessary.
“For more than 200 years, every Fourth of July we have celebrated our independence, and we have done this with fireworks,” he said. “What the (expletive) is the matter with these people? If I thought that one more person was going to get sick because of us doing this, I wouldn’t do it.”
California’s Health and Safety Code requires that a public display of fireworks is unlawful without a permit from the state fire marshal; the company firing off the display must have a pyrotechnic operator license.
And there’s a whole series of codes on who can “assist” the display operators, including flipping the switch. “Unlicensed assistants shall perform only when under the direct, immediate and constant supervision of the licensee when handling fireworks and pyrotechnic compositions,” according to the code.
Parris said the city has permits for the show to happen. But it wasn’t clear if existing permits would be sufficient, considering this week’s announcements from the county and state.
Industry experts say that the city or the sponsor of the show will often obtain an initial permit to host such an event, and then the fireworks company has to apply for a display permit from the local fire authority — in this case, that would be the the L.A. County Fire Department. Experts also said a fire inspector should be on site.
L.A. County Fire will be increasing its staffing in high-risk areas for fires, with added vigilance because of stay-home orders keeping many people — including purchasers of “Safe and Sane” fireworks, where permitted — at home, said Capt. Ron Haralson, a spokesman for the department.
Haralson said said the department was following the county’s health order banning aerial displays and was “concerned” about anybody creating any kind of spark.
Under state law, anybody who violates any provision of the State Fireworks laws faces a misdemeanor and a fine of $500 of between $1,000, and potential jail time up to one year.
County officials have asked all elected officials in the region to comply with the health order banning such shows, but it was unclear Thursday if or how officials would enforce the ban.
“We particularly ask that our elected officials help model what I know are very difficult decisions at the city level…,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “But we do need to make some changes because of these times. I count on everyone on continuing to work together. “
“We all wish we could celebrate at the beach or at a fireworks show, but this 4th of July is unlike any other we have experienced,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a statement Thursday. “It will take all of us working together to keep our communities safe and maintain our progress to flatten the curve.”
Earlier in the week, Barger voiced frustration that the health orders came down so close to the Fourth, after cities in her district made plans so to host events and organized resources for social distancing.
Even before this week’s county order was issued, nearly all fireworks shows in the greater San Fernando Valley — from Woodland Hills to Westlake Village and from Calabasas to Camarillo — had already canceled, in response to the pandemic.
As of Monday, only two shows remained on the calendar — in Lancaster and Santa Clarita — both of which vowed to prevent a large gathering on a single site and to urge viewers to enjoy the show from their cars or from nearby areas while staying socially distanced.
Santa Clarita officials canceled, leaving Lancaster as the lone city planning a show in the area.
Newsom on Wednesday lamented the fact that people couldn’t celebrate the Fourth the way they usually do, but said the recent virus surge propelled his orders.
“I think patriotism, at least in a COVID-19 environment, can be expressed a little bit differently with our independence from COVID-19, with a little bit of consideration for wearing masks and physical distancing,” he said, imploring people to reconsider plans to gather with friends and families from outside their immediate household.
Parris — the first local dignitary to greet President Donald Trump, famous for his refusal to wear a mask, on a trip to the Southland earlier this year — said he was completely pro-virus safety — social distancing, facemasks and all. He even suggested that he’s contemplating going to the City Council next week to urge $100 rewards to residents who spot people who aren’t wearing masks.
“We have to stop being stupid,” he said. “We have to do three things. We have to wear a mask. We have to wash our hands, and stop touching our face. If we do those three things, nobody has to do die. What we’re doing now, is just making it worse.”