Public packs beaches for Fourth
By Karen Blakeman and Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writers
Independence Day in Hawai'i was a real day at the beach.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Before 8 a.m. yesterday, as lifeguards started their shifts, Ala Moana Beach Park had sprouted 6,000 shade tents, said Jim Howe, the city's operations chief for ocean safety. The parking lot was full by 8 a.m., he said, as residents vied with visitors to stake out territory before the annual fireworks show.
D'lynne Sullivan of Punchbowl feeds her 2-year-old nephew Preston Foster at Ala Moana Beach Park. Their family arrived at 8:30 a.m. to set up camp.
The fireworks show, at Magic Island in Ala Moana, was to start at 8:30 p.m., more than 12 hours later.
"This is the way people celebrate in Hawai'i," Howe said. "They go to the beach."
Police said the Ala Moana park was so saturated by 1:40 p.m. that they had to shut off the entrances. Incoming traffic was turned away, and by 2:40 p.m. traffic officers from that area were heard, on police scanners, begging for backup.
"I'd say we have most of the residents and just about all of the visitors on the beaches today," Howe said.
It was great beach weather. At Ala Moana, Punchbowl resident Ed Sutton said he and his family arrived at 8:30 a.m. to set up camp. This year the family pitched a full-sized tent complete with separate compartments and netting so 2-year-old grandson Preston Foster could watch his first fireworks display in style.
And Ala Moana was only one of the beaches.
Islandwide — at the beaches where lifeguards have towers, at any rate — the human population by 10 a.m. had boomed to 99,050, Howe said.
At press time, there had been one report of a serious fireworks-related injury. A Waialua man was rushed to The Queen's Medical Center in serious but stable condition after injuring his back when a homemade bomb ignited.
By 4:30 p.m., lifeguards had performed 22 full-fledged rescues and had assisted 194 other people who appeared to be in need of assistance..
In addition to traditional Fourth of July picnicking, people were participating in or watching sports events, including the Macfarlane Regatta in Waikiki and a paddle board race on the North Shore.
Residents and guests who headed toward the Windward side watched the annual Independence Day parade in Kailua, then hung out on the beach for the fireworks show last night.
Firecracker reports were light and sporadic in most areas during the daylight hours yesterday. Carol Costa, a spokeswoman for the city, said yesterday that Satellite City Halls had sold about 166 fireworks permits by 3:30 p.m. Thursday, but that final sales through 5 p.m. Thursday, including those at Pearlridge, Ala Moana Center and Windward Mall, had not been tallied.
Last year's Independence Day total was 139 permits sold on O'ahu.
About midday, O'ahu firefighters helped track down and safely recover an overdue 12-year-old kayaker. Firefighters also battled 30 brushfires, five rubbish fires, three vehicle fires, two minor building fires and a shack fire, according to Fire Department Capt. Kenison Tejada, who said "about half" of the fires were "fireworks-related."
On Moloka'i, firefighters battled a brushfire on the island's west end and a car fire in Kalama'ula. Kaua'i firefighters extinguished a brushfire in Moloa'a caused by a traffic accident. The Hawai'i County Fire Department battled a few fires. Maui firefighters said they extinguished about four fires.
