A large-scale illegal fireworks show woke up many Long Beach residents late Sunday night and sent them searching for answers about what was going on.
Videos posted online showed dozens of rockets being launched from the Queensway Bridge on the city’s Downtown waterfront. Residents across Long Beach said they heard or saw the display that lit up the sky and left smoke wafting across the bay.
The fireworks display was not a city-permitted event, city spokesperson Kevin Lee said.
Staff at the Hotel Maya, less than a mile from the bridge, said they received about 20 noise complaints from guests unnerved by the roughly 20-minute fireworks display.
Facebook user Michelle Sevilla Kringen commented on a video saying she heard the explosions in Seal Beach.
Various views of the fireworks were shared online, including views from Downtown Long Beach and from Shoreline Village. A post in the Long Beach subreddit at 11:17 p.m. Sunday titled “WHY ALL THE BOOM” amassed 179 likes and 120 comments from equally confused residents.
A since-deleted Reddit video showed likely the closest view of what happened: at least eight cars parked in the right lane of the bridge with fireworks exploding overhead.
Long Beach police said they initially got calls from people thinking there was some kind of shooting going on at around 11:15 p.m. Sunday.
Officers hurried to the scene of the report at Fourth Street and Daisy Avenue but then spotted the fireworks being set off from the Queensway Bridge a little less than a mile away, police said. Officers headed in that direction, but when they arrived at around 11:25 p.m., whoever was setting off the fireworks was already gone, police said.
Officers cleared fireworks debris from the roadway, police said. But the next morning, about ten boxes of empty fireworks tubes and cardboard remained on the bridge. Public Works crews were eventually called in to clean them up.
So far it’s not clear who set off the fireworks. Police didn’t immediately have a suspect description.
Long Beach city regulations outlaw all personal fireworks, “including sparklers and those labeled ‘safe and safe,’ within city limits.”
Under city Municipal Code, anyone cited or arrested for fireworks violations may be faced with at least a $1,000 fine, sentenced to jail for six months, or both.
Community members are urged to report firework activity by calling the non-emergency number at 562-435-6711 or submitting a complaint through the Go Long Beach website.
Residents with videos, license plates and photos can submit the information to the corresponding police division: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].