Long Beachs huge Fourth of July fireworks display killed by coastal officials as San Diego also changes show
Long Beach residents keen to see fireworks light up the sky to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this Fourth of July will be disappointed — as Southern California moves away from pyrotechnics.The city will nix its annual July 4th fireworks display, named “Big Bang on the Bay,” for the first time in 15 years after the state denied an appeal to host the show in its traditional form.The celebration typically lights up the water Alamitos Bay on July 3, but the California Coastal Commission denied an appeal to host the display.Farther south, San Diego has also taken steps to limit fireworks displays.The commission approved a five-year permit for Long Beach last year, with the city agreeing to transition from fireworks to a drone show beginning in 2026, a commission spokesperson told The California Post.A local business owner and organizer of the show, John Morris, unsuccessfully appealed the decision in a meeting with the commission on Wednesday.
“I believe I’m in the right, so I’m always going to fight,” Morris told The Long Beach Post. He previously noted the switch to drones was unlikely, leaving the show’s cancellation a real possibility.Morris said that testing done for 10 years shows that fireworks do not pollute the water or affect wildlife.“We have big plans for the 250th birthday next year for this country,” he told the commission last year.“Of course it’s going to be about fireworks.”A drone show would be much more expensive, he said at the hearing.“So, all of a sudden, from a $40,000 fireworks show, we’d be up to $200,000,” Morris explained.Morris said he had support for the fireworks show from Rep.
Robert Garcia, state Sen.Lena Gonzalez and Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal, as well as Long Beach City Councilmember Kristina Duggan.“Fireworks to me, it just seems like the best way,” he told CBS News.
“Any other option is going to be hard to rally as many people as we rally.”Duggan said a pyrotechnics display would dis...