Cambria canceled Fourth of July fireworks show at the last minute. This is why

Cambria’s famed Fourth of July fireworks show was canceled about 30 minutes after its scheduled showtime on Monday due to concerns over public safety, according to organizers.

As in past years, American Legion Post No. 432 hosted its Independence Day Celebration at Shamel Park in Cambria.

“It was a day filled with family fun, games, food and music to celebrate our nation’s birthday,” post adjutant John Ehlers wrote in an email.

Although the rest of the community picnic happened without a hitch, the fireworks that traditionally conclude the event were a no-show due to gusty winds at the shore.

According to Ehlers, the decision to call off the pyrotechnics was ultimately made by Pyro Spectaculars, the Rialto-based company that has “provided the fireworks display for the last 31 years.”

“They put safety first,” he wrote.

Jennifer Waite, Pyro Spectaculars show producer, said that the licensed fireworks show operator made “multiple efforts to move to a safer location” and “re-angle the racks” that hold the mortars.

“Winds aloft were strong, blowing from the launch site toward the crowd,” Ehlers wrote, noting that “test shots were fired at 8:49, 9:10, and 9:30 p.m.”

Those test firings confirmed that winds were continuing to gust from the north down the beach, Waite said, and there was still too much potential danger to continue with the show.

The wind “was blowing the rounds too close to where people were sitting,” she said. “We have to be so careful about the fallout.”

Waite was temporarily offsite directing the city of Paso Robles’ fireworks show but her operator, who was consulting with officials including Cal Fire marshal Tayone McLeod, kept her updated on discussions about whether to call off the pyrotechnics.

By 9:45 p.m., officials told post representatives that the fully permitted show would not go on.

Winds at the shore “had barely shifted” by 2 a.m. Tuesday, Waite said, validating the decision to cancel the show.

While coastal conditions in Cambria often are similar to those in Cayucos and Pismo Beach, Waite said, fireworks shows at those San Luis Obispo County spots are shot from a pier, which moves the pyrotechnics further from the crowds.

“Proximity to the crowd is definitely a factor,” she said, adding that “the fallout zone in Cayucos … is directly over the ocean … almost 1,000 feet” from the closest attendees.

“That’s not at all the same situation in Cambria,” where the launch area is at the beach, Waite said.

“You have to consider so many things about the best place to put the show: safety, tides, the public, every factor you can imagine,” she said. “Having it on a beach is definitely a challenge. Typically, you don’t have a group of folks so close” to the launch site.

That said, she said, the Cambria show site is designed carefully with public safety and possible weather conditions in mind.

Legion member Dave Ehlers said this year’s launch site had been reoriented “to the north this time, providing a greater safety zone” than was afforded from the shoreline area that had been used in the past.

On Monday night, “winds were blowing down the beach from Moonstone south,” he said. “They weren’t as strong in the park.”

However, he said, “As soon as I crossed out onto the beach area, I could feel how hard it was blowing, coming in waves.”

Ehlers said that post leaders “will be reaching out to the fireworks company” to discuss how to handle financial ramifications of the cancellation.

Any funds the post has left after paying for this year’s Fourth of July festivities and next year’s fireworks will go toward helping veterans, providing youth scholarships and other community outreach efforts, he said.

“It’s such an exciting event,” Waite said of the Cambria fireworks show. “There’s a wonderful vibe with the people there. I was so disappointed that we could do nothing to get that show in the air ... The wind direction couldn’t have been any worse.”