City council presented with options for Independence Day

After two years of waiting, Riverside may get to see fireworks this Fourth of July, with a caveat: they cannot be launched from their traditional post on Mt. Rubidoux.

In tomorrow’s city council meeting, council members will have the opportunity to decide if and where the Riverside community can observe a fireworks show on Independence Day. Adolfo Cruz, director of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, said because hosting a pyro-technic show on Mt. Rubidoux poses a safety hazard, the department had to think of other options.

“The vegetation that grows during the wintertime, well by the time July rolls around it’s just fuel,” he said.

In previous years, the brush that grows and dies on the mountainside is cleaned up by city-contracted agents, California Conservation Corps and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Red tape created by the pandemic kept those agencies away throughout 2020, so it would not be possible to clean Mt. Rubidoux in time for July.

The potential, next-best option is Ryan Bonaminio Park at the base of the mountain.

According to Cruz, the council will look at two options for safe locations. The first is to produce a show solely for La Sierra Park. The second is to hold one at La Sierra Park and another at Ryan Bonaminio Park.

The city council meets to deliberate on agenda items, including this one, today at 1 p.m.