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The town’s highest elected official this week addressed the widely discussed decision to proceed with the July 4 fireworks at Waveny Park, saying the storm that cut the event short and sent thousands of attendees scrambling was not foreseeable when the go-ahead was given.
First Selectman Dionna Carlson addressed the controversy at the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting at Town Hall, where she said she’s received significant feedback from residents upset about the call.
“I’m hearing lots of Monday morning quarterbacking on the call,” Carlson said. “I think it’s important for people to understand the decision-making process.”
The show, she explained, had to be approved before the town’s fireworks provider crossed the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey into New York on Friday evening.
“Once they come off the bridge, they cannot go back,” Carlson said.
“On Friday, late afternoon, there was a very low probability of thunderstorms. We have had percentages of rain and thunderstorms significantly higher for the Memorial Day parade that I canceled and didn’t get, than what we had for the Fourth of July fireworks that we didn’t cancel and did get.”
The fireworks arrived at Waveny at 8 a.m. Saturday and crews began setting up. By 3:30 p.m., Carlson said, indications emerged that the storm probability was rising. She spoke with the Parks & Recreation Department at 5 p.m. and the decision was made to move the show up earlier than scheduled. A text alert went out to subscribers.
“The skies really started to get dark,” she said. “It was all hands on deck with emergency services, and when we noticed that the storm was about eight miles out, we made the call. Everybody needs to get to their cars.”
Carlson said emergency personnel from the police department, fire department and EMS were all on site. New Canaan Fire logged roughly 20 calls that evening, compared to its typical average of about three per day.
No one was reported injured.
“We’re all really blessed that no one was injured,” Carlson said. “It was very frightening, and you do the best you can with the information you have. Unfortunately, weather can change on a dime.”
She added that summer weather forecasting remains imperfect even with modern radar systems, and that the town will hold a debrief with emergency services personnel to evaluate the response and whether improvements can be made for future events.
“We’re never going to be perfect,” Carlson said. “It is called an act of God for a reason. But we can always learn from these situations, and thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, no one was injured.”
Carlson also acknowledged the added weight of the occasion for the town.
“The 250th, you want it to be special,” she said. “Well, it was. That’s what we’ll always remember.”