We almost saw Dodger Stadium explode!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, Sunday's game may have been a laugher from the outset (Dodgers gave up 5 runs in the first inning), but at least we had fireworks to look forward to, right?

Well, the game ends and the fireworks began. All was going well. Then, about 10 minutes into the show, my brother-in-law leans over and says, "Hey, what's that over there by the "76" sign?" Holy crap, that's a fire...right behind the stadium's gas station! It looked at first like it might have been a roman candle or something, because it was really sparky, but it lasted too long and was probably a palm tree burning.

A couple minutes after we noticed it (the fireworks are still going at this point), we see a fire truck headed through the parking lot. Then it stops, seemingly unable to get through the way it was trying (with the fireworks show being launched from the parking lot necessitating some blockage, I'm sure their normal fire lanes were not completely accessible). So the truck, after a pause, turned and headed for an end around move. That also didn't seem to work as it soon stopped and began backing up.

Meanwhile, trucks started coming from the other dirction. And as they passed right in front of the show's launch point, the fireworks stopped, music still playing. A couple minutes later, the music was stopped, the lights turned on, the fire was being doused, and the announcer was telling us to drive safely.

Back at our car, we could see the trucks. It looked like it wasn't quite as close to the gas station as it looked from the stands, more like the hill behind it. Not sure what set it going. It could have been one of the several people who were launching illegal fireworks in the parking lot and surrounding area starting in the 6th inning or so. Or, it could have been the result of one suspiciously low, large firework near the beginning of the official show.

It was disappointing to not get a grand finale, but at least we got some intrigue and excitement waiting to see if the gas station would blow.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Well, I'm glad Dodger Stadium didn't actually blow, only the game that occurred within. :)

We watched a show last night about fireworks and there was a segment about "When firework shows go bad". It was pretty amazing to see how one misguided shell can set the whole display off at once, and quite quickly, I might add. Lots of carnage. There was one section where someone happened to capture footage of a fireworks factory in the Netherlands that caught fire. Very pretty display that leveled a good portion of the town.

One can only hope that nothing like this ever occurs at Disneyland. I don't even want to think about the amount of damage it could do.

[Mousey Girl]

It amazed me how many illegals were set off last night. I am used to the bottle rockets going off, and the roman candles. We could see mortars all around us, and they were not actual displays, just people setting them off. Ususally the BPD helicopter can be found in the skys on the 4th, but it sems to have been grounded last night. There were quite a few that were close enough, and big enough to rattle the house. When I finally dropped into bed at 11:30 I could still hear the booms over the fan in our room and the a/c over our head.

[mistyisjafo]

Same with us on the beach. The stupidiest moment was some guy running around holding a roman candle above his head.

With the wind the way it was last night I'm surprised there weren't more fires!

[Moonliner]

Wow! How upsetting. The Dodgers lost! :( oh and that other thing also..

I was REALLY hoping to see the Dodgers when they come to play the Nationals next month, but in a typical example of my rotten luck I have to be on an Alaskan cruise during that home stand. Oh the callous disregard life shows for my happiness. :(

[jdramj]

We watched Anaheim Stadium's Fire works last night from our front yard (as we do any Friday night the Angel's are in town), but I too was amazed by the amount of illegal ones going off around us. We were surrounded by a lot of smoke before the staudium fireworks had even started.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The previous 2 years, we were at a party in the hills of Palos Verdes with a spectacular view of a large chunk of the LA basin and the South Bay. From the moment the sun dipped below the horizon, the illegal fireworks began. For about 2 hours, there'd be a constant display across the basin. It was really quite spectacular. But then, 9 o'clock would roll around, and the REAL fireworks would begin, the professional shows. From that vantage point, it becomes very very apparant the difference in size and quality of the real deal vs. even the most daring of the illegal bunch. But it's so much fun to see the panaramic view of fireworks of all sizes going on for 5 or 6 hours!

[CoasterMatt]

Some kids on Lassen were shooting at each other with Roman candles - occasionally hitting passing cars

[Morrigoon]

Sometimes I think the naked water ballet taking place behind us was more spectacular (and scary) than the illegal fireworks we were actually watching ;)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Sometimes I think the naked water ballet taking place behind us was more spectacular (and scary) than the illegal fireworks we were actually watching ;)Why do you think I watched all 5 hours of the fireworks? I wasn't about to turn around and see if that was still going on or not...