Against all odds, 4th of July a hit

Photo by Amanda Martilla

With the state and county all but shutting down fireworks shows on Independence Day amid COVID-19 concerns, the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association persevered and the show was a hit.

No doubt, as evidenced by large gatherings on some of the beaches, social distancing was not practiced by all during the holiday, but according to City Manager Chris Mann, overall numbers typical for July 4th were down.

“While there were certainly many who came out to enjoy the beaches, lake and fireworks, crowds seemed below average in size,” Chris said. “It would appear that many Canyon Lakers did a great job staying home, not calling-in as many guests and practicing social distancing.”

No safer place to watch the fireworks than outdoors on a boat. This spectacular view of the show was had by many who floated around Skippers Island and watched the show. Photo by Alex Martin.

Several Independence Day activities took place in the community as residents celebrated the holiday. A bike ride in the morning had dozens of participants, including many children and families. A monstrous parade of boats that included over 120 boats and 600 participants drove in an orderly fashion around the lake. Additionally, the Canyon Lake POA pool was open all day and beaches and parks had a steady flow of swimmers, sunbathers and picnickers.

Perhaps there has never been more Canyon Lake backyard Independence Day barbecues in history as many families decided to stay home and enjoy the holiday.

With concerns about COVID-19 spreading, those with docks on the lake took advantage of their privacy and parties sprung up around the entire perimeter of the lake as evidenced by this family’s get together, right. Photo by Amanda Martilla.

Both for the boat parade and for viewing the fireworks show, boats were as popular as ever on the lake. Chris said boaters throughout the day seemed cooperative with city officials.

“As usual, City Code Enforcement provided support to the POA and the Fire Marshall to secure a safe fire fallout zone around Skippers Island,” he said. “Although many boaters were not aware of the buoy circle around the island, everyone was happy to comply once asked to leave the area. The addition of two Sheriff’s Deputies staffing a city enforcement boat provided added safety for residents.”

Boats streamed out, above, for this year’s fireworks show and enjoyed, some would say, the best seats in the house. Photo by Claudia Kalmikov.

Chris said that other than one minor traffic collision in which the driver forgot to put the car in park, there were no major incidents reported to police.

Regardless of the precautions many took to stay safe from the spread of the COVID-19 virus, with so many individuals in the community for the weekend, there is concern the city’s infection rate could see an increase.

“The city remains concerned about the recent spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases,” Chris said. “We are hopeful that we won’t see a significant uptick in cases resulting from the holiday weekend.”

Even with the additional cases, Canyon Lake remains the least infected city in the county on a per capita basis. The county is experiencing unprecedented increases in COVID-19 cases.

Not much social distancing took place on Indian Beach on Independence day as evidenced by this view of wall-to-wall EZ Ups. The crowded beach was one of the prime locations for swimming and other lakefront activity. Hot weather and the holiday made the beach particularly tempting. Photo by Amanda Martilla.

“Following the Governor’s orders last week prohibiting indoor dining, the city has launched a program that allows our restaurants to apply for a Temporary Outdoor Dining Permit,” Chris said. “This free permit gives businesses the option to create and/or expand their outdoor seating in order to accommodate dine-in customers.”

He said two restaurants in the Town Center have already submitted applications for such dining and have received approvals from the city.

“The city remains committed to doing whatever we can to help Canyon Lake businesses get through these challenging times,” Chris said.




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