The leader of the group that presents the BeachLife music festival in Redondo Beach, which was forced to end early Sunday night due to dangerous winds, said Monday he fully supported the decision by police and fire officials to shut down the event in the name of public safety.
"I am well aware and take very seriously the inherent responsibility that comes with producing a large-scale event to prioritize the safety and security of every single individual attending over anything -- including economics or any other potential outfall," BeachLife CEO Allen Sanford said in a statement released by the city of Redondo Beach.
"While I am a festival producer, I am a father, husband, and community member first, and wholeheartedly support the decision to evacuate made by (Redondo Beach Fire Chief Patrick Butler)," he said. "Yesterday, Beachlife Festival and the city of Redondo Beach Police & Fire collectively demonstrated to the community how seriously we take this responsibility through the quick identification of a weather threat and full-scale safe and expedient evacuation."
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The festival was in its third and final day on Sunday when the windy conditions that impacted the area for most of the day worsened in the late afternoon. According to city officials, the police and fire departments worked with festival organizers before the event and developed protocols that included a safety evaluation if wind speeds topped 30 mph, which could potentially compromise the free-standing stage structures.
At about 5 p.m. Sunday, wind speeds were measured that topped 40 mph, and a "ground stop of all performances" was triggered, officials said. Police and fire crews began efforts to evacuate the roughly 7,500 patrons from the coastal venue, with the bulk of that effort completed by 5:50 p.m.
BeachLife officials initially indicated the evacuation would be for one hour while weather conditions were assessed. A short time later, however, with wind conditions persisting, Butler and Police Chief Joe Hoffman made the "command decision to cancel the remaining three hours of the show," and notified Sanford of the move.
"Once the property was fully evacuated it would have required a full fire safety inspection including structural engineers to check for signs of stress fatigue on the stage before we could even consider allowing the public to return -- it was too much risk to reopen for less than three hours."
The group My Morning Jacket was scheduled to be the headliner Sunday night.
BeachLife officials broke the news to ticket holders, posting on social media that the decision had been made the cancel the evening's performances "due to a serious wind event that put the general public at risk."
Once the decision was made to cancel performances, officials made arrangements for the return of personal possessions that people may have left behind when they were evacuated.
There was no immediate word on whether ticket holders would receive any sort of refund. The online statement from BeachLife said only, "In the coming days, we will be unwinding the collateral consequences of this decision and we ask for your support and patience while we do so."
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