Kardashian fireworks scare sparks 'corrective action plan' from fire chief - Los Angeles Times
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Kardashian fireworks scare sparks ‘corrective action plan’ from fire chief

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It’s not a perfume, clothing line or new reality TV show, but the Kardashians have now inspired a “corrective action plan.”

Angry over a fireworks show that Khloe Kardashian threw in Marina Del Rey last month for her NBA star boyfriend, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors has ordered its fire chief to figure out a way to stop something like that from happening again.

Fire Chief Daryl Osby has a one-month deadline to report back with “a corrective action plan to ensure that an event, like the private, permitted fireworks show in Marina Del Rey that occurred very late on a weeknight in an area impacting many residents, is not repeated.”

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On Aug. 26 about midnight, the sky above Marina del Rey lit up with an eight-minute fireworks show as part of a boat party thrown by Khloe Kardashian for Houston Rockets guard James Harden. Many residents complained that the show scared their pants off, figuratively, woke their children and shook up their dogs. One woman, Playa del Rey resident Linda Feldman, told the Los Angeles Times that she thought her dog was going into “cardiac arrest.”

In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the board approved Supervisor Don Knabe’s motion, entrusting Osby to come up with a plan to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.

“It is outrageous that a show of this nature was allowed to occur very late on a weeknight in an area impacting so many residents,” Knabe’s motion read.

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The fireworks could be seen as far away as Venice and heard in Redondo Beach.

The display caused chaos in many households and residents have since demanded answers and accountability for the non-holiday show, which appears to have been legal, although many considered it rude.

Knabe received numerous calls after the show and is upset, his spokeswoman, Cheryl Burnett, told The Times the day after the show.

“It’s not clear who approved or didn’t approve what, but the finger-pointing doesn’t matter,” she said. “Where is the common sense in a midnight fireworks display when normal people have to get up early for work or families have to get kids ready for school?”

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E!Online reported that the bash was a celebration of Harden’s 26th birthday. Kardashian, best known for her family’s long-running reality TV show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” is reportedly dating the hirsute Harden.

Residents say that they weren’t notified about the fireworks show.

The Coast Guard said that because the event occurred in open water about a mile from the marina, a permit was not required. The show also passed a safety checklist, officials said.

The event was sponsored by Boulevard Management, according to emails between Los Angeles County and Coast Guard officials. The fireworks were launched from a vessel named the American Islander.

L.A. County sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said the department was not responsible for any fireworks requests outside the Marina del Rey breakwater. Sheriff’s officials were told the fireworks would be launched from the vessel about 100 feet west of the breakwater off Marina del Rey during the private party.

NEWSLETTER: Get the day’s top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Many of the residents who called to complain were concerned that the noise was coming from weapons fire, Nishida said.

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Loud disturbances are a violation of the law. Penalties depend on the seriousness of the disturbances and can include jail time and fines.

Before Tuesday’s vote the L.A. County Fire Department was already looking into a permit corrective action plan. In a statement, the department said it would ensure that procedures for “future outdoor fireworks displays consider time of day and appropriate community outreach.”

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.

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