Annual fireworks display sparks fire at the Park at River Walk

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ( KGET ) — The annual fireworks display at the Park at River Walk in Bakersfield was one for the history books with a spectacular grand finale at 9 p.m. Then the fire started about a minute after that.

“Honestly, I was a little nervous because the fire was spreading out very fast,” said Ximena Suarez. “I was like, OK this is not any fun anymore. It’s just kind of like OK maybe we should get out of here.”

Suarez came to the Fourth of July party at River Walk with her family to enjoy the amazing display out in the 99-degree heat. They also witnessed the fireworks finale fire that started across from them on the banks of the Kern River. “That was obvious that it was going to happen because it’s really dry,” said Suarez.

She wasn’t the only one that anticipated fire danger. A park ranger on site told 17 News the annual fireworks show was launched from Aera Park so there would be a buffer zone from the flames and the spectators if a fire started. He was right.

“There were fireworks that exploded a little low,” said Suarez.

The fire started about 9:16 p.m. Fire crews arrived about 5 minutes later. The fire was put out shortly after at 9:24 p.m. No injuries are reported.

“Just be careful. Stay safe everyone. 4th of July, it’s pretty fun, but when things happen you do have to step back a bit,” said Suarez.

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