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With pandemic lockdowns and social distancing putting a damper on many public celebratory traditions, Norma Alfaro didn’t know what to expect when she set up her fireworks stall this week by Pacifica State Beach.
But on opening day, there was already a line “almost close to what we do on the Fourth,” Alfaro said.
Coronavirus has fizzled most public Fourth of July fireworks shows this year — Gilroy is the only one — but sales of “safe and sane” fireworks are booming at colorful stands in the handful of Bay Area cities that still allow them. In addition to Pacifica, the safe and sane variety of fun can be found in Dublin, Newark, Union City, San Bruno, Gilroy, and a half-dozen cities in neighboring counties.
“We’re already selling out some of our stuff in the second or third day,” said Dustine Chamberlain, who works alongside Alfaro in Pacifica.
The sales are good news for local nonprofits like sports teams and community groups, who sell the fireworks at licensed stands to raise money.
Shana Trias, the president of the Dublin Fighting Irish — a youth football and cheer program — says that their stand has reported sales double that of last year. On Sunday, they broke $10,000.
“We were shocked that we were as busy as we were,” Trias said.
The annual fireworks sale is the program’s “one and only fundraiser,” Trias said. They rely on it to fund scholarships and equipment. With this year’s added revenue, the Fighting Irish will be able to fund more scholarships for low income kids, and they’ve already started reaching out to families to let them know that cost shouldn’t be a barrier this year.
“We had a few families that came to our booth yesterday, saying they’re not sure if they’re going to be able to play,” Trias said. “We told them, don’t worry about it. Sign up, and we’ll take care of it. We’re excited to be able to offer that to the families, especially lower income families.”
With the lack of big public displays, and most families trying to find ways to entertain themselves at home, it’s no wonder that similar stories of high sales numbers are playing out across the state. TNT Fireworks supplies the goods for approximately 2,500 of the 3,000 nonprofit fireworks stands in California. Each stands starts off with a projected allotment based upon previous sales, and the stands let the company know when their supplies are running low and need to be replaced.
California’s early sales are spiking, says TNT Fireworks spokesperson Dennis Revell.
“There are significant reorders so far, certainly bigger and earlier than in past years,” Revell said.
He added that sales are usually higher when the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday, as it does this year. The pandemic may be helping those numbers, too, as families search for socially-distanced ways to celebrate the Fourth.
“Everyone’s going to be outside their front yard doing it,” said Ashley Littlejohn, who lives in Roseville and was buying fireworks in Pacifica. Littlejohn and her boyfriend, who normally drive to a public fireworks show on Cameron Park Lake, are settling for the driveway this year. She’s confident that their $100 haul of fireworks will do just fine.
“I’m excited, it’s going to be a good hour, hour and a half show for sure,” she said.
However busy her sales get, Alfaro is excited to get home on the Fourth and spend the weekend with her family — her typical routine since coronavirus arrived in the Bay.
“We’re going to be home lighting fireworks, having a barbecue, continuing to enjoy the same crowd I’ve been enjoying since March,” she said.