Life, community and America’s independence were celebrated once again in Malibu over the Independence Day Weekend. After a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic and Woolsey Fire, the Point Dume community came together and delivered a spectacular July 4th parade. The return of the two-decade-long tradition appeared to be the highlight of the weekend in Malibu.
It certainly seemed a highlight for Malibu Mayor Paul Grisanti, who called the celebration “wonderful.”
“They did it with two weeks’ notice. It came together like you wouldn’t believe. Everybody says it’s the best one they’ve ever had,” Grisanti said. “I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the parade.” The mayor and his wife, Sara, went to the parade thinking they were to serve as CERT volunteers. When an extra golf cart became available, the two were asked to participate. “It was fun to see all the kids riding bicycles and skateboards alongside the golf carts,” Grisanti said.
The joy of the return of the Point Dume parade was unfortunately tempered by the last-minute cancelation of a fireworks show that was scheduled at the Malibu Colony.
“The city granted them a permit,” Grisanti said. “The fireworks company apparently had an employee problem and they had made more commitments than they had licensed pyrotechnicians—or something.” A fire department tweet stated the privately funded display did not have everything in order at the time of inspection. A flyer apologizing to residents for the last-minute cancelation was posted in the Colony, but apparently not everyone got the message, including throngs who waited along the coastline for the offshore barge display.
That didn’t stop others, including at Broad Beach, from setting off some illegal fireworks that were shut down when the sheriff’s department showed up. The fireworks did not cause any reported damage or fires.
“They were shoo’d away,” LASD Lt. Jim Braden said. “There were some, but it wasn’t overly a lot.”
Crowds kept the Malibu’s Sheriff’s Department Volunteers on Patrol busy. About 650 parking violations were issued from Friday through Monday, according to VOP Team Leader Mark Russo. VOPs responded to numerous traffic incidents including a pedestrian who was hit at Pacific Coast Highway and Cavalleri. The volunteer group was able to put out a trash can fire at the end of Greyfox in Point Dume right near the beach entrance. The VOPs were called to the fire at midnight on July 4. The blaze was extinguished moments before it spread to nearby foliage.
In general, Braden said, it was a manageable holiday weekend.
“We made several arrests related to intoxication, stuff like that, in the evening hours of the Fourth, but overall the day was calm,” Braden said, adding that there weren’t any “major things that came up.”
The holiday proved fairly quiet for Malibu Search and Rescue, too. Two calls were canceled en route, according to MSAR team leader David Katz. The fire department was able to get to a female hiker suffering from heat exhaustion in Malibu Creek State Park on Friday and a dog was rescued in Topanga, thanks to LA County Fire.
Paradise Cove residents awoke to see a large sailboat run ashore on the beach on July 4. Crews were expected to get the vessel back in the water at high tide on Monday after efforts failed Sunday. Braden reported authorities were able to drain fuel from the vessel’s tank, even though efforts to tow the boat were initially unsuccessful—“It was stuck down in the sand.” As of Tuesday, the sailboat had still not been removed, according to eyewitnesses who reported it had become waterlogged in the surf.
