Mother Nature dealt one final ugly blow to Fort Myers Beach before sending 2024 into the history books. A thick fog sat on top of the island from the early morning hours on December 31st and hardly moved before 2025 was ushered in with clear skies and bright sunshine.
The beach was packed with tourists, visitors and locals on New Year’s Eve, many asking the question, ‘Are they still having fireworks?’ We monitored the town Facebook page throughout the day which was not providing any real-time explanation of the plan ahead.
The town paid for plan was to shoot the fireworks off at midnight off a barge with the Fort Myers Beach pier still years away from being rebuilt. That plan had worked very successfully on the 4th of July and to ring in 2024.
For a brief moment Tuesday evening it appeared the fog might be lifting. The camera view from Margaritaville started to show the sand on the beach, which was completely blocked out by the fog earlier in the evening.
However, that was short lived as the fog rolled back in and at midnight it was still thick and sitting right over the beach as it was nearly all day long.
The fireworks went off as planned and the town even posted a video of the show HERE. Due to the fog the fireworks were impossible to see which led to immediate criticism on social media. Many people complained that the town wasted tens of thousands of dollars by not canceling or postponing the fireworks that nobody could see.
Mayor Dan Allers was the only person from the town or town council who addressed the complaints and explained why the town had to move forward with the plan in place. “We did discuss canceling them and trying to postpone them till January 1st or the 4th of July. Fog was predicted to lift by 10AM New Years Eve and it tried, but didn’t. Once the fireworks were on the barge, the show either went on or the money was lost. Issue is with scheduling the barge not so much with security. It also has to do with scheduling requirements for the Fire Department and LCSO. These are planned months in advance and the decision to postpone or move the dates has to be done in a reasonable amount of time. We went with the forecast of lifting and it didn’t. We are not happy with the outcome either but can’t control Mother Nature.”
When I become Mayor don’t even think about seeing any fireworks.
You want fireworks in the future? You better start fundraising now.
Let’s start by saying the area had been locked in by fog for 72 hours prior to the event and there was never any indication it would lift. The air was warm and filled with humidity over a cool Gulf. Planning could have easily been done when the contract was inked allowing the barge to remain another night pre loaded with pyrotechnics. They are easily rendered safe for 24 hours. Also, that contingency would have a policy written insuring the fireworks operator would receive additional compensation for the delay. Planning with public safety (both fire, ems, and LCSO) would have had a traffic plan in the event of a next day delay. That’s how public safety works as well as local government. Sounds like the mayor is just tired of answering to debacles in our quiet little beach community. Time to approve some more 17 story buildings so we can see them in future years above the fog
Thank you for sharing your expertise. The nonsense excuses that were put out by Allers were accepted and applauded yet obviously not true. Lying to the residents and saying we had no other options is unacceptable. So thank you for educating everyone. Clearly this is once again another example of the incompetence. I’m tired of the horrible decisions being made and given a pass because they claim we didn’t have any other options.
Ditto Fire Marshall Bill.
Beach Talk Radio the mayor also made the decision to ignore the FEMA rules and the residents will end up footing the bill to keep a few businesses running with higher flood insurance bills
I would like to see the town manager or town boards “goals and objectives” for 2024 and 2025.
Does anyone do any strategic planning?
I would like to see the contract that was signed by the staff for the fireworks. What was the state co regency date?
Was there even a contingency date?
The town council directs the town manager. They are the people voted in by the residents. The town council hired the manager not the voters.
I have been a pyrotech in the Midwest for 30 yrs+. Most of the whiners have no idea how many hours of work had already gone into this show before the call was made. it is very difficult to safely undo all the preshow work…someone had to make a call and they did- get over it!
You have much bigger fish to fry on this island !!
Paul,
Here’s a not so tough decision that should be made.
Firing the town attorney who let such a one sided contract be approved instead of protecting the town and that pile of public funds by insisting on a weather contingency.
The people who got screwed because of that contract have every right tone pissed off. Both the taxpayers who paid for all of it and others who were told they’d see a fireworks display.
Lee. Tax payers don’t foot most of the bill. The businesses donate a large portion of the funding for the fireworks. Do some homework.
This reminds me of snow days up north. The superintendent either makes the call too early and parents gripe, or too late and people complain. Listening to you all whining about a situation that could not be controlled is annoying. I live on the island before you tell me I don’t know what I am talking about. I can only imagine the mayor putting off the fireworks because of fog and then the fog lifting. HOLY SHIT what would have you all said then? Damned if you do Damned if you don’t. The weather was unprecedented. That is my .2 cents and I won’t read any more on this post so don’t waste your time 🙂
Wrong Dana. It could have been controlled. A better contract with contingency for bad weather. That way many parents and their children, and elderly, could have been off the roads after midnight in fog.
Terrible contracting, seemingly all on the side of the contractor.
Who does that?
Damn island is 3/4 still destroyed and a bunch of fools are worried about lights and loud bangs in the sky. Get a life people.
Jason, It has been 28 months since Ian. The fact that the island is still in this condition should tell us something is going horribly wrong with the people running this town. Siesta Key was ground zero and hit with TWO hurricanes, 10 days apart. Go visit the area. They had it cleaned up and rebuilt in 8 weeks. All debris is gone, all damaged buildings were torn down, dead trees gone and homes are already being rebuilt. Want another example? Aug 8 2023 Lahaina Maui was incinerated from a “rare” hurricane driven wild fire.2,200 buildings and homes were destroyed. 800 boats tied off of Lahaina burned. The water was on fire from this “rare” fire. The town of Lahaina was wiped off the map. In 10 months every bit of damaged buildings and homes was removed. Every dead tree and shrub was removed. The beach is pristine. Both of these locations had FEMA lurking around and both would have had insurance companies to deal with. Both locations would have had permits to deal with and red tape. Lahaina had historical structures and buildings built before Hawaii was a state were involved as well. Somehow, Lahaina and Siesta Key have managed to get their islands cleaned up and are being rebuilt. Then take a look at FMB. The Mayor, town council, manager, etc are all responsible for this island looking like it does 28 months later. Meanwhile our homes continue to plummet in value. The main focus of the Mayor has been sand and turtle lights and now we have lost our flood discount. Maybe we should talk to the mayors of Siesta Key and Lahaina and ask them how they managed to figure it out and get it done.
A wise person said the fog that transcended on our island took our sorrows away
Excuses, every time, all the time, and no accountability. It’s actually funny, and expected now!
Would it have bothered anyone to make a “common sense” decision? What about “uh, can’t really see 30 feet in front of me, sure! Set off the fireworks! I’ve always wondered what flashes of light would look like in a fog!??”
What about the of the way this entire dysfunctional country operates, this is just another exemplified version.
Great job on consistency! The best thing you have going on!
I’m surprised the mayor didn’t hold back. He’s held back on everything else on the beach.
It seems to just keep coming from this council and its town manager.
This time a fireworks display no one could see.
No contingency in an $83,000 contract and no word from the town manager or attorney on that omission. Or why.
Topping it all off, it seems Woodson’s call for a gag order on council members is already in place. Not a peep from her or the other three.
Incompetence grows when not caught early.
Keeping the public informed would have been the perfect assignment for Karen’s PIO per the Woodson Gag Order, but all we got was crickets 🦗
Another example of TC and their minions’ incompetence.
This is what people have to complain about. I knew that evening it wasn’t going to be a great night for fireworks so I decided not to go as I have dealt with traffic getting off island in previous years. I’m just thankful we didn’t have to deal with some of the other catastrophes others dealt with that night.
You are absolutely right. If this is all people have to complain about, they should be very thankful. I have the feeling there are many people in New Orleans that would gladly trade fog and invisible fireworks for what they went through.
Even if there is a rain date there is usually a time set for cancel or move forward and it is hours before time to set off the fireworks.
Rob is right. Every other show in any other town probably had a contingency plan for weather. But by the previous actions of this administration, it wouldn’t surprise me at all that this was overlooked. It’s painfully obvious that some in this administration do not know how to run a town, and should ask for help in doing so, or step down. Thanks to Mayor Allers for facing the crowd to explain. You don’t see the KAW-ard (King, Atterholt, Woodson) trio trying to explain. I’m sure nobody would listen to them anyway, as they don’t listen to their constituents
Somehow it is the the town council’s fault that the fireworks were shot off during an odd blanket of fog but Allers is a hero because he came out with an excuse. Once again getting a pass. Do you honestly think Allers had nothing to do with the decision to shoot off the fireworks? I assume it was not Allers fault that a contingency weather clause was not in place. There is always an excuse for these poor decisions and Allers gets a pass. I would think the the 3 people responsible for this are the Town’s attorney for not having a clause in place, Andy and Allers. Look at the money that this buffoonery is costing the tax payers…..Lost FEMA discounts, lost trucks during the storms, stolen boat, fireworks shot off during a freak fog, etc. The excuses need to stop.
You are absolutely correct. The TC (except for Allers) says we need these huge developments because we need the money. Stop spending recklessly and we wouldn’t need the money. Besides needing 3 new Council members, we also need a new Manager.
It’s great to have an explanation, thanks Dan. It was one of the most unique fireworks show I ever heard!
Happy 2025 – Let’s do great things!
The contract should have addressed weather events, as the Mayor stated you cannot control Mother Nature. My flight was canceled into Florida very early due to fog, at 2pm for a 930pm Florida landing. When dealing with tax payer money, extra caution is required as you have more accountabilities. If it were your money, would you still have set them off? Expensive lesson learned.
Best scenario was what you said, they had the opportunity to save fireworks for another date even months later. The thought of any of us spending 80K with those conditions would have been to stop and not set off.
No matter which way the Mayor played it ,he was gonna make people upset.
He made a decision and he stands behind it.
To bad he has to deal with Karen’s but that politics in todays world.
Perfect way to handle it. Mock people who think it was a bad decision to shoot off fireworks in the thick fog. $83,000 lost is just another oppsie? Was losing the FEMA discounts for TWO YEARS an oppsie too? How about the stolen boat that wasn’t locked? How about the lost trucks that were destroyed during the latest hurricanes because someone decided to leave them and not move them more inland? So if we say anything about these poor decisions, we are called Karens? Somehow people will side with the decision maker as long as he comes out and plays the hero and says “go ahead, I’ll take the blame for this but I would make the same decision again”. Of course he will stand behind his decision to shoot off fireworks with a thick blanket of fog because he knows clowns will defend him.
No one can win on this island. So many depressed Karen’s all they are going to do is bitch about everything
So true
It’s gotten terrible and it’s mostly the people who feel like they lost the Seagate debate. You can expect the same thing on everything going forward. I feel sorry for our hard working Council.
Exactly!! Every firework show I’ve seen in my life there was always a rain date
Every fireworks show I’ve seen, and I’ve seen plenty always has a rain/weather date. Was a rain date included in the contract or was it overlooked.
It’s completely understandable. Thanks for addressing this Dan. I’ve read many criticisms about this on FB.
Another example of complete incompetence by the town manager. He doesn’t have a plan for anything except to spend and waste taxpayers money. Can’t even get the FEMA thing right like all other town managers did. And he never addressed the public about it. The mayor is too gullible to see thru him and keeps looking like a fool because of it.
Robert is Andy making all these decisions alone or is Allers in on these decisions as well? It would be nice to know who is really calling the shots because then we know who needs to be held responsible for the negligence. I am still in shock that people are not demanding the truth and not accepting these lame answers. No one can be this incompetent.