A local environmental group is taking aim at Fourth of July revelers who don't properly dispose of beach fireworks.
The Pacifica Beach Coalition has launched a petition drive calling for a ban on all beach fireworks. The group expects to bring 1,000 signatures to the city council with the hope that a public outcry will trigger a citywide beach fireworks ban.
The group had taken a neutral stance on beach fireworks until earlier this month, photos emerged that according to the group shows that current measures the city takes to keep the beaches clean on the night of the Fourth are woefully inadequate.
That prompted the group to decide to take action at July 12 meeting.
Community groups who benefit from the legal sale of fireworks are required to pick fireworks debris the day after Fourth of July celebrations.
But the photos showed fireworks debris coating the beach that a tide swept out to sea before the community groups could even start their cleanup.
A volunteer who collected fireworks debris from Linda Mar State Beach on the night of the Fourth described the scene as a "."
Fireworks are currently banned on Sharp Park, Manor and Esplanade Beaches but they can be legally set off at Rockaway and Linda Mar Beaches.
PBC President Lynn Adams told Patch that she was ahead of the group's meeting, but said she was speaking for herself at the time.
The fireworks debris contain chemicals that pollute coastal waters, and that the plastic debris swept out to the ocean kills fish and birds who mistake the remnants for food, environmentalists say.
Fireworks have in Pacifica and beyond for public safety and environmental concerns.
But any ban or restrictions on fireworks face likely face an uphill battle in a city where Pacifica lawmakers say fireworks opponents have never been a significant political force.
Pacifica voters have approved the sale of legal fireworks by resounding majorities on at least two occasions over the past 20 years, Mayor Pete DeJarnatt told Patch.
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