Many Pacific Palisades residents look forward to the Fourth of July evening because of the annual fireworks display at Palisades Charter High School. That tradition is now in jeopardy because the Los Angeles Fire Department has not yet issued a permit. In February, Palisades Americanism Parade Association volunteer Rich Wilken received approval from the LAFD to shoot fireworks from the PaliHi quad, but was stunned last week when he learned that the permit was being withheld. According to Wilken, Captain Scott L. Miller said that Inspector Rawls, who originally approved the application, was new to his job and that the permit should not have been approved. ‘He [Miller] started off our meeting with the statement, ‘This will most likely be the last year you can shoot fireworks off at PaliHi,” Wilken said. The traditional launching site for the fireworks show is no longer available because of the school’s new synthetic-turf football field. Also not available is the baseball field, which is reserved as a helicopter emergency-landing site. According to Wilken, Miller wants a 280-ft.-clear radius around the fireworks firing site. The quad, surrounded by buildings, does not meet that requirement. Wilken countered that the school buildings are made of non-combustible brick and concrete and the roof is made of fire-resistant material. ‘We meet all the requirements under NAFPBA 11.23 [national fireworks exhibition standards],’ said Wilken, who has coordinated the fireworks show for more than 25 years. Regardless of the federal guidelines, he said, ther LAFD makes the final determination in a case like this. Last week, Miller suggested that Wilken think about bringing a barge to an off-shore location at Temescal Canyon. At this late date, a barge may not be available and Wilken worries about the cost and potential weather conditions’if a marine layer moves in as it did last year, visibility for the $20,000 fireworks display would be limited. Wilken has contacted Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s office for help in acquiring the permit, and the councilman’s office has been in contact with the LAFD. According to Wilken, Rosendahl’s deputies have stated that they would love to have the show and hope it will happen, but understand that school-building safety is the overriding factor. On Monday, Wilken met with LAFD’s Assistant Fire Marshall Captain Craig Fry, Miller and two other LAFD captains at the site. Miller had told Wilken that he would not give a permit for the show at the high school, unless Miller’s superior, Fry, approved it. At that meeting alternative sites were considered. Tuesday morning, Fire Captain Randy Souza and two senior fire inspectors, one of whom was a former PaliHi student, inspected the quad area and reviewed safety issues. Souza, a cousin of James Souza (president of Pyro Spectaculars, which provides the Palisades fireworks), told Wilken that if the show proceeds, he would be the one firing the display. Yesterday, Wilken met with Captain Souza and James Souza to look at potential locations and to test fire a few fireworks. At press time there was no definitive answer to whether a permit would be issued for the Palisades Fourth of July fireworks.
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