Will Shaver Lake have Fourth of July fireworks? It’s in jeopardy, Fresno County official says
Shaver Lake may have to cancel its annual Independence Day Celebration for a second year, if organizers can’t get clearance from the state’s Department of Public Health.
Time is running out.
The Greater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau says it has until Saturday to sign contracts with the pyrotechnics company and other vendors and volunteer organizations to make the event happen on July 3.
That can’t be done without proper guidance from the state.
And that guidance hasn’t been forthcoming, Assembly Member Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, said on Wednesday during a news conference urging the state to act.
“We’ve got to have help or this event will not happen,” Patterson said.
“They need guidelines for opening the event and they need it now.”
Patterson’s office has yet to hear back from the state’s department of health and Gov. Gavin’s Newsom’s office on what would be needed to get the event approved ahead of June 15, when the state is expected to fully reopen.
Outdoor events are currently allowed under the state’s tiered system, but the logistics of the Shaver Lake event — which is spread out over 3,000 acres in, on and around Shaver Lake, with no grandstands, tickets or single entrance gates — require specified guidelines.
The event draws 10,000 people to the area and has been a highlight of summer recreation for 20 years, says Dylan Johnson, chairman with the Greater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau.
The event was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Shaver Lake has come through a traumatic year, first the coronavirus pandemic and then the devastation from the Creek Fire. It is a miracle that the community survived, Patterson said, but it did and is now in the midst of a “great reawakening.”
The fireworks celebration will serve as an opportunity to “celebrate the rebirth of Shaver Lake,” he said.
“They just need to give us the green light to do so.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 11:55 AM.