San Jose cancels Almaden Lake 4th of July fireworks show due to safety concerns

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Festive 4th of July fireworks will not be lighting up the sky above Almaden Lake. This year, San Jose city officials are canceling the show due to safety.

San Jose resident Jerry Moran wonders if city officials will still hold the daytime events families look forward to.

"That's terrible, I think that's terrible news. I think the community like benefits from having festivals throughout the day for the kids, as a place for kids to come and have fun - a bunch of stuff set up," Moran said.

City Councilmember George Casey who represents this district posted on social media, "With over 30,000 people last year, the event has simply outgrown the venue."

"I understand there's a little bit of a bottle neck that happens after the traffic - I've been stuck in that traffic a couple years where I didn't make it because there's so many people," Moran said.

Casey said that traffic made it difficult for first responders to respond to emergencies.

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Residents who live near the lake said illegal fireworks caused a fire on the hillside.

San Jose resident Dominick Scuderi said he remembers seeing the fire from where he lives.

"We were pretty concerned because it looked like it took a long time for the fire department to get out there," Scuderi said.

We went to Legends Pizza Co. just down the street from the lake. Manager Andrew Gregarick said the annual fireworks show was a great tradition, but not worth sacrificing safety.

"A family friend of our had to be evacuated and so a lot went into thinking - like we love fireworks, they're fun, they're great for everybody but at the same time there's a lot recklessness going on. When it puts the community in danger safety is the number one call for us. So we're all about community here," Gregarick said.

On Wednesday, San Jose officials held a webinar about reporting illegal fireworks through the San Jose 311 App.

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This year, the Deputy Chief James Dobson with the San Jose Fire Department said they'll be using a drone pilot program to enhance enforcement.

"And we're going to use it in conjunction with the social host ordinance. If somebody is observed utilizing fireworks and they can be associated with a property, they can be cited," Dobson said.

During the webinar, Joe Celio, the code enforcement supervisor, said residents need to download the San Jose 311 App.

Celio said anonymous reports can be made as a 'guest' to help first responders with mapping out troubled areas, but there will be no follow-up afterwards. He recommends residents create a profile and submit an actionable report.

"Make sure you put the address that you feel is affiliated with the fireworks - don't put your address. I repeat, don't put your address," Celio said.

The city will still have a sanctioned and free fireworks show at Lake Cunningham.