Businesses and waterfront department reflect on Santa Barbara Fourth of July celebrations

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - It’s the calm after the storm in Santa Barbara after downtown, and the waterfront areas celebrated the Fourth in a grand style.

The soundtrack at the West Beach celebration was full of live performances and a sense of rejuvenation after a couple of years on hiatus.

“Tons of people down here, people having fun, and the firework show was spectacular," said Waterfront spokesman Chris Bell. "The bands from Stearns Wharf to West Beach and the yacht club. A lot of opportunities for people to have fun.”

The day after the Fourth tends to bring a bit of a mess to the beaches, but this year’s post-Fourth chaos was hard to find.

“You wouldn’t even know really there was this giant event with thousands of people," said Bell. "Everyone did a good job cleaning up after themselves and we also had this large army come through afterward.”

That army included a load of volunteers from the lifeguard and volleyball camps, but also the parks and waterfront department.

“This is a great message for us, we just celebrated our independence it's a really good sign to show that we want to keep our beaches clean and keep plastics out of the ocean,” said Bell.