Fireworks organizers seek more stable launcher
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
The cancellation of this year's Kailua Fourth of July fireworks show because of blustery weather will likely rekindle an effort by organizers to use Popoi'a Island, the coordinator of the show said today.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Wind gusting to 35 mph and rough surf forced the Kailua Chamber of Commerce to cancel Thursday's display, which has been held just offshore of Kailua Beach for more than 50 years, said Larry Lanning, coordinator of the show. He said the event drew about 10,000 people.
Mika Wilson, left, and Lisa Omokawa, of Sukyo Mahikarai, clean up the mess at Magic Island after Fourth festivities. It's an annual event for the group.
In previous years, the Kailua chamber used Popoi'a Island — commonly known as Flat Island — as a base to launch the fireworks. But complaints about the harm it did to the island's bird sanctuary two years ago forced the chamber to launch the show from a barge.
The surf Thursday was too rough to safely bring the barge over the reef near the island, and when organizers tried instead to launch fireworks from Kailua Beach, the gusting winds could have taken the ashes too close to spectators, homes and vegetation, Lanning said.
"This could happen every year and the situation could be the same," Lanning said. "We really have to talk once more about using part of Flat Island. We just need a little kokua for a little side of the island. The birds have lasted there. We have been there for 50 years and the birds get bigger every year."
The island is "the perfect distance from shore," he said and suggested a small fenced area that would be used only to launch the fireworks.
The show would have cost $21,000, all donated from businesses and the community. What happens to that money will have to be negotiated, said Donald Pascual, sales and safety manager for Hawai'i Explosives and Pyrotechnics.
"Mother Nature prevailed," Pascual said. "We really extended ourselves and exhausted all the options before we made that call. We appreciate that the community understands this. I really didn't want to give up."
The weather did not prevent officials from launching a fireworks display from Magic Island.
Police estimated that 50,000 to 75,000 people gathered Thursday at Ala Moana Beach Park in anticipation of the show and turned the area into a small, barbecue-scented city.
And like a city, a traffic jam ensued when those thousands of people packed up and tried to leave the park. With only two vehicular exits, it took about two hours to clear the park, police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.
Compounding the problem was that many who left the park on foot drove back in to pick up family, friends and belongings, Yu said.
The bus company added 15 buses to Ala Moana routes, but buses still were caught in traffic, said Jim Cowen, president and CEO of O'ahu Transit Services.
"There was a colossal traffic jam. And our buses shared the same road as the cars," said Cowen said. Buses took 45 minutes to travel the short distance from Kona Street on the mauka side of Ala Moana Center to Atkinson Drive, and an hour to get around the block, Cowen said.
"That first bus was completely full, but by 10:40 p.m. everything was cleaned up," Cowen said. "Bus services were better than last year."
Left behind was a small mountain of rubbish for Ala Moana park cleanup crews to contend with. But by late yesterday morning, the park was ready for the weekend, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said.
Advertiser staff writer Kapono Dowson contributed to this report.
