{"id":266431,"date":"2026-04-14T00:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T00:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/266431\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T00:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T00:36:11","slug":"can-the-big-bang-fireworks-show-be-saved-regulators-deny-permit-for-independence-day-celebration-long-beach-post-news-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/266431\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Big Bang fireworks show be saved? Regulators deny permit for Independence Day celebration. \u2022 Long Beach Post News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The longtime organizer of Long Beach\u2019s beloved July 3 fireworks show is making a last-ditch attempt to save it instead of acquiescing to regulators\u2019 demands that he switch to drones.<\/p>\n

For the last 15 years, the Big Bang on the Bay has kicked off the Independence Day holiday with block parties, flyovers and musical performances leading up to the grand finale: an extravagant pyrotechnic show launched from a barge in Alamitos Bay.<\/p>\n

Organizer John Morris, who owns the nearby Boathouse on the Bay, uses the event as a fundraiser, collecting $1.7 million for local charities since 2011, but in recent years, he\u2019s been in a bitter fight with the California Coastal Commission.<\/p>\n

The commission, which regulates public access anywhere along the state\u2019s 1,100-mile coastline, has sway over the Big Bang because the event shuts down a public parking lot next to Morris\u2019 restaurant. In recent years, the commission has repeatedly told Morris he must ditch fireworks and switch to drones, saying they\u2019re less likely to pollute the bay or disrupt herons and egrets nesting nearby.<\/p>\n

When Morris tried to get approval for fireworks again this year, Coastal Commission staff told him no. Now, he\u2019s appealing that decision. At a meeting on Wednesday, he\u2019ll make his case to the full commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I\u2019m in the right, so I\u2019m always going to fight,\u201d Morris said. He\u2019s planning to present letters from local politicians \u2014 including Congressman Robert Garcia, state Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal \u2014 pulling for the fireworks show to take place as usual.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll likely have a tough sell.<\/p>\n

Commissioners warned Morris in 2025 that it was the last time they would approve fireworks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coastal impacts are of great concern to me,\u201d Commissioner Paloma Aguirre said at the time.<\/p>\n

She also expressed frustration with the lack of progress toward a drone show, even though Morris \u201chad ample opportunity to see the direction that this commission intended to take for now a few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris told the commission he would consider switching to drones in 2026 but \u2014 almost in the same breath \u2014 said it wasn\u2019t likely to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have big plans for the 250th birthday next year for this country,\u201d he told the commission last year. \u201cOf course it\u2019s going to be about fireworks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"John Morris, restaurateur, in Long Beach, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n

The Big Bang typically attracts thousands of revelers to the Peninsula, Naples and nearby neighborhoods. Drones, Morris argues, wouldn\u2019t be nearly the same draw.<\/p>\n

They are also more expensive, he said, potentially cutting down the proceeds that go to local charities.<\/p>\n

Morris said he explored the idea of drones, even meeting with Coastal Commission staff, Long Beach city employees and the Long Beach Fire Department three times since last May. Each meeting has resulted in the same answer, Morris said, that a drone show is not possible over Alamitos Bay without limiting boat traffic and beach access.<\/p>\n

To allow a show anywhere in the city, the drones could only move vertically, cannot have anyone underneath the flight path and must take off and land from the same place, said a Fire Department spokesperson. None of the three drone companies Morris met with could accommodate those requirements, he said, so he submitted a plan for fireworks instead.<\/p>\n

In January, Coastal Commission staff denied the permit application, saying Morris disregarded the commission\u2019s instructions to move to drones. Commissioners will consider on Wednesday whether to overrule that decision.<\/p>\n

You can watch the meeting online here<\/a>. It is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The longtime organizer of Long Beach\u2019s beloved July 3 fireworks show is making a last-ditch attempt to save…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[116342,4035,131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-266431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-big-bang-on-the-bay","9":"tag-fireworks","10":"tag-long-beach","11":"tag-long-beach-headlines","12":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}