Anytime public safety departments face an unknown, gauging how to deal with it can be difficult.
This year’s movement of Santa Clara’s fireworks display to Mission College was just such an unknown. But Santa Clara police and fire department officials said the change of venue went off without a hitch.
The police department had 175 calls for service, said Lt. Mike Crescini, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara Police Department. While that number was slightly higher than an average day, Crescini said the day was “nothing out of the ordinary.” Police responded to nine calls for service involving fireworks and made five arrests.
Through a variety of overt and covert methods, Crescini said, police were able to ensure those attending the community Independence Day celebration were comfortable. Police presence was in line with what the event called for, he added, allowing people to feel relaxed but safe.
While the event was well-attended, Crescini said it wasn’t so busy that police were unable to keep things safe and lively.
“This is kind of becoming the norm where people are going outside the city for fireworks,” he said. “We were definitely prepared for a busy day.”
For context, Crescini said a typical day sees between 150 and 165 calls for service.
He attributed the lack of incidence to increased messaging and preparedness between the police and fire department.
On the Santa Clara Fire Department side of things, Jeremy Ray, deputy fire chief of operations, said the fire department also had a “slightly busier than normal day,” about a 40% uptick in calls, which, he added, is also typical for July 4 and the days surrounding it.
He too categorized the day as “nothing significant,” saying there “no major fireworks-related injuries.”
Although the community celebration at Mission College saw a bit of a snag with traffic, calls for service were “nothing overwhelming,” Ray said.
Santa Clara is a bit of an anomaly, he said, since it is one of the few cities in the Bay that doesn’t have much grassland or foothills near it. Ray still urged Santa Clarans to be safe and respect the law.
“We do always want to push the message that all illegal fireworks cause thousands of injuries. Just because I am not aware there have been any significant injuries, they are a constant threat,” Ray said. “It happens even here. People still use illegal fireworks here and start grass fires here. They just cause millions of dollars in damages around the state each year. It really should be left to the professionals to do fireworks.”
As for the new event at Mission College, the City of Santa Clara was happy with how things went.
“This year’s 4th of July celebration at Mission College was a tremendous success. Thousands of Santa Clara residents enjoyed a day of family-friendly activities, great music and food, and the return of the City’s much loved fireworks display that had been on hiatus since the start of the pandemic,” said Acting Parks & Recreation Director Cynthia Bojorquez. “The City is especially grateful to Mission College and California’s Great America for their willingness to partner in piloting the event in a new location. We could not be more pleased with the response we received from the community.
“Throughout the day, attendees commented that the location was ideal for hosting a safe, high-quality holiday event with free parking, outstanding entertainment and lots of room for picnicking, dancing and games,” Bojorquez continued. “Participants enjoyed a diversity of food options and we heard from food truck vendors how busy they were throughout the event. We are happy to report that we did not experience any public safety issues despite the large crowd. Our success was not without some learning opportunities for the future—most notably, the need for a more effective traffic control plan after the fireworks. We are committed to learning from that experience and building on our successes and partnerships into the future.”