The Fourth of July holiday once again drew thousands of people to the city of Hermosa Beach. Although police reported no serious crimes or injuries, and experienced a decrease in problems with house parties, the large crowds and drinking in public along The Strand continued to be a primary concern for officers.

Last Thursday, beach-goers and party animals descended upon the beach and The Strand to absorb the wild social scene infamous in Hermosa Beach on the holiday.

According to Hermosa Beach Lt. Tom Bohlin, throngs of people packed almost the entire Strand from First Street to 35th Street, making it difficult for joggers, skaters and bikers to effectively use the flat stretch of concrete.

Laguna Beach native Joe Ayala spent the holiday with friends who live in Hermosa Beach. He said he was surprised with the multitude of people walking along The Strand, but felt it contributed to his having a good time in Hermosa Beach.

“This is unbelievable,” said Ayala. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people on a boardwalk at once. Whether you live here or along any other beach in Southern California, you know people come to the beach on the Fourth, so I’m sure it’s busy because it’s the beach and because this city is apparently a hot spot on the Fourth.”

As a way of preparing for the holiday festivities, the Hermosa Beach Police Department enlisted the help of the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. About 44 officers, 28 of them from Hermosa Beach, patrolled the city either on foot or by car.

The issue of holiday enforcement has come to the forefront in recent years as residents have increasingly complained about the boisterous crowds. The Hermosa Beach City Council has expanded the noise ordinance and police are now able to cite people who cause traffic jams along The Strand and drink on either the beach or The Strand.

In recent months Hermosa Beach Chief of Police Mike Lavin presented the council with the department’s plans for this year’s holiday. Lavin focused on educating the public about the consequences of using fireworks and drinking in public prior to the holiday.

Despite an increase in police presence, the crowds still greatly outweighed officers who issued citations mostly for public drinking and the illegal use of fireworks.

“We issued quite a few citations because but there was still a lot of liquor,” said Hermosa Beach Sgt. Tom Thompson. “We didn’t have as many problems with people this time and we noticed a lot less parties, and I think it was because we gave prior notice. It seemed like everybody had a good time.”

Officers issued 141 citations along The Strand and the beach — 100 of which were alcohol-related. There was also one drunk driving hit-and-run accident. There was also an assault near 14th Street and The Strand where paramedics transported one person involved in the fight to the hospital.

“There was much more enforcement this year,” said Bohlin. “The crowds seemed larger than last year but more well-behaved and the vast majority were cooperative.”

Officers issued 310 parking tickets and arrested 18 people for crimes like public drunkenness or fighting. They were not forced to hand out citations for loud parties.

“We had some first responses to parties but we never had to come back,” added Bohlin. “People seemed to be pretty cooperative.”

James Kreutzman, who lives on The Strand, said he has called police in past years about loud parties on the holiday but this year seemed different.

“I took a walk along The Strand and I noticed some loud parties but The Strand itself was a bit of a nightmare,” Kreutzman said. “I’m really not sure the police can do anything about the crowds. It’s like Pandora’s Box in that the police can’t stop people from coming to Hermosa Beach especially when we have something like the downtown plaza.”

Adding to the congestion was the annual Ironman competition. Participants gathered in a vacant lot on 29th Street near Ocean Drive to chug their six packs of beer. As that event closed down about midafternoon, officers focused on the city at large. Around 8 p.m., officers shifted focus to people setting off fireworks around town.

The crowds started to leave Hermosa Beach around 11 p.m., after the Redondo Beach fireworks show ended. Lavin said the beach and the pier were brimming with spectators and the traffic jams leaving the city were directed by Highway Patrol officers.

“The officers helped to divert traffic onto 190th Street,” he said. “I don’t understand where all of these people park, but I think all in all, things went very well and our officers did a great job at dealing with this holiday as best they could. I think our strategy and deployment was very successful and it really helped having an increase in the number of officers.”