Noisy Neighborhoods

Fireworks all year round?

August 2003

Tonight (a Thursday in August) as I sit reading email, there are fireworks booming for the 2nd time this week off in the distance...I think it's at Jack London Square this time, last weekend it was in SF. We just got our 2 yr old to bed but she's likely to wake with the booming (again). Aside from the fact that I can't do anything about the increasing number of fireworks events (why!?), I'm feeling at a loss as to how to explain this stuff to our toddler, who becomes frightened. It made sense around Independence Day, and was even a little fun to try to explain for the 1st time about our country and the celebration. But I honestly don't know why the other shows are happening, what they celebrate, or how to explain them to my daughter...especially when we can't see the colored displays through the fog. It just sounds ominous. Has anyone else found a way to deal with this creatively? anonymous

The fireworks are coming from the baseball games in Oakland and San Francisco. They used to wake my 3 month old daughter also. They will last as long as the baseball season in the area lasts (and that depends on how the teams do, right?). I play classical music at a quiet volume, but loud enough to block out other noise for the first few hours that my baby is asleep (the CD player goes through 3 or 4 CDS each night). It blocks out noise in the house also. M.

I don't have any great advice to give but I wanted to sympathize - I think all these fireworks are RIDICULOUS. Bad for the environment, noisy and just plain obnoxious. Once a year is plenty. So what if there is a baseball game - does that mean that the rest of the Bay Area has to stay awake? I don't understand why it's legal, frankly. I have often thought of writing someone to complain, so I'm glad I get to complain about here, at least. My child sleeps through it without any problem, but I've often wondered how other parents (who might live closer to the source than I do) are dealing. Fran

I am another person bothered by the excessive number of fireworks throughout the summer. I have two ideas - one is to contact politicians - local and state and ask about instituting a law limiting fireworks displays (perhaps allow a certain number outside of July 4th and they must apply to do it) and writing to the Chronicle and asking them to do an article about it. I suspect there are a lot of us feeling the same way and if we could generate a groundswell of support for limits we could get something done. I am motivated now to take those steps myself. Thanks for writing. Susan W.

I don't think you can blame the fireworks on baseball. I know the A's only have a fireworks show twice a year and I believe the same goes for the Giants. Then other thing is that my husband and I have often heard those sounds at night that sound like fireworks, and both teams have been on the road, so back to the original question, where are all those fireworks coming from? or more importanly, are they really fireworks at all? anon