Surprise Fireworks Show from Biltmore

(Photo submitted to John Palminteri / KEYT)
Update by edhat staff
April 12, 2019
 
A private party at the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel included surprise fireworks startling many local residents Thursday night.
 
Around 9:45 p.m., numerous edhat readers wrote in asking about sounds of “explosions” and potential fireworks that could be heard from Montecito to Hope Ranch. 

A fireworks show lasted for nearly five minutes and was 

The party was held at the Biltmore Hotel for MetLife insurance where top company executives had been staying all week. The fireworks were included as part of their party, reports an edhat reader with intimate knowledge of the event. 

Neighbors and nearby residents were not informed of the fireworks show. Fireworks must be permitted, but there is no requirement for public notification.

Video provided by an edhat reader


Reported by edhat readers
10:00 p.m., April 11, 2019
  • Very loud explosion-like noises heard from Ladera Lane coming from Santa Barbara direction around 9:45pm. Lasted for several minutes. Any info?

  • Why was there a pro-level fireworks show towards Montecito at 9:40 tonight?  Celebration at the Rosewood Miramar?

  • We’re hearing what sounds like fireworks tonight (9.45 PM)  we live in Mission Canyon but it seems to be coming from miles away. Does anybody have any information?

  • Did anyone hear what sounded like 30 seconds of rumbling thunder around 9:30 PM tonight?

Edhat Staff

Written by Edhat Staff

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43 Comments

  1. We have had noise sensitive dogs in the past. It’s no joke about how many animals suffer when they are exposed to loud booms and other fireworks noise. We once had a dog try to jump out an upper story window due to neighbors setting off small fireworks. We know a woman whose dog plowed through a living room plate glass window due to fireworks out in Goleta. The Biltmore ought to apologize to the public. Shameful and extremely thoughtless and inconsiderate not to alert all of us to this “fun” event.

  2. Yeah but how could they give every household in the city limits a “warning” about a 10-minute fireworks display? And for all we know, they did, with a notice in the News Press or something, which none of us would see. I don’t think anybody would approve emergency-alert texts on all of our phones for something so minor.

  3. Think about this on Earth Day:
    “According to The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, setting of fireworks close to nesting and roosting birds can cause disturbance.
    The organization advises against launching fireworks near to sensitive wildlife areas, such as nature reserves and nesting grounds for wild birds.
    For example, during a New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Beebe, Arkansas in 2010, up to 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell out of the sky and died.
    Beebe is a roosting ground for blackbirds, and during the night when the fireworks started, they may have been startled and their poor vision at night could have led them to be disoriented. ”
    “A 2007 study of an Oklahoma lake following fireworks displays overhead found that perchlorate levels spiked more than 1,000 times above the baseline level for 14 hours after a show. While the maximum concentration detected was 44.2 micrograms — less than 1 milligram — per liter, the study was still the most concrete evidence yet that fireworks release perchlorates into waterways.”

  4. Fireworks are fun. Think of it as a gift to the community that tax dollars did not have to pay for. It was short lived and pretty for all to see. Yes, some pets react to fireworks, just like they do on 4th of July and other local firework events. Just give them the same shelter you offer your pets at that time. Pets are tough. They are very resilient and must do the same thing when there are unannounced thunder and lightening storms. No one forces anyone to buy MetLife products. If they have a product people prefer over other offerings, it is perfectly appropriate to reward their key people for offering a well-sought after product.

  5. Call the Montecito Fire Department and voice your concerns and disappointment with them.
    (805) 969-7762. We supported them 110% last year, then they leave all citizens of Santa Barbara & Montecito in the dark. Someone (Miramar) should have posted on Facebook (swap), Noozhawk, &/or KEYT. I’m going to call Miramar Hotel and express my disappointment with a 5 star hotel, who’s got no respect for their neighbors. 8059008388

  6. Insurance is a commodity. It is okay to make a profit selling a commondity. If your product is not good, you don’t make money. If it is, you do make money selling it. No one forces anyone to buy Met Life products. But enough do choose to buy what they are selling, so their profit in a competitive market place is theirs to spend how they wish. Don’t like MetLife, there are plenty of other operations to choose from. That is how the market place for commodities in a free society works.

  7. For the person who was going to call the Miramar and give them a piece of his/her mind about the fireworks. How did that turn out? Top executives of MetLife staying at the Biltmore all week. Imagine the cost of that. No wonder insurance companies charge so much.

  8. How Gross these ego-maniacs that work for the Insurance Industry (who are crying poor, due to all the wildfire devastation around the State-Including THIS LOCAL AREA) have the balls to throw a week long party at the Biltmore and cap it with a fireworks “celebration…” If any of you have MetLife- call and give them grief or better yet switch companies.

  9. Nice use for the money Met Life extorts from clients. Executives living like royalty is a huge burden on lessor mortals. I wish their salaries and perks had to be voted on. Their life-styles are based on what amounts to welfare.

  10. It is time to start accounting for the pollution that these fireworks shows drop into the ocean. We get righfully outraged about cig butts. How much cardboard and toxic chemicals are we putting into the ocean that we claim to protect? We should also monitor th eeffect of the sound on birds and sea llife.

  11. Hey FACTO….Think of the Homeless as a gift especially the Mentally Ill Folks ya know the innocent Folks you think deserve LOCK DOWN…This gift can help you in ways you can never imagine…As far as your friends shooting off fireworks there was no warning and it is no gift to the community when one thinks of the damage it does to the environment..It could have started a fire..You really should volunteer to dish out food in a food line this stuff your dishing out here don’t taste so well..

  12. Fireworks can be manufactured these days that are silent. More and more cities are adopting them. Ask Animal Control if their work load increased due to the bangs when people hadn’t had notice to lock up their nervous dogs and cats; how disruptive the unannounced explosions were, how many confused animals ran loose the next day.

  13. I thought in Santa Barbara, they needed a permit and had to notify the residents when fireworks are going to be set off. 10 pm is pretty late on weekday. It takes quite a bit of preparation to set fireworks off, so there was no excuse to not notify people. I hope the Biltmore got fined. How totally disrespectful of the community and their pets. Bad neighbors!

  14. 15 minutes of local fire works versus 4 solid hours of intensely amplified sound coming from Earl Warren Show Grounds a few weekends ago, which broadcast at high volume for miles around. We need to review noise regulations in order to protect the quiet enjoyment of our community. Hannah-Beth Jackson and Monique Limon control Earl Warren Showgrounds. Das Williams has the Biltmore in his county supervisor district. Ironic, all we get from them is total silence.

  15. Control in what sense? I have never seen them at the gate taking tickets or anything. If you mean that because EWS is a state property and they are one of the many assembly and senate members voting on laws about how those properties are managed, I guess you are right. That show a few weeks ago was pretty loud but it didn’t ruin my life or anything.

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