ARES Security Helps Secure the Largest Annual Event in The Western U.S.

The Big Bay Boom started as a small event back in 2001 and now has hundreds of thousands of people attend annually. While this event is a celebration of America’s Independence Day with a spectacular fireworks display, it is also a burdensome ordeal for the area’s security, police force, and Coast Guard. The turnout this year reached over 500,000 spectators, both on land and in the water. From street and waterway closures to constantly monitoring car, boat, and foot traffic, the drastic number of attendees requires months of planning for both operations and security purposes. 

Both ASC and NSGIS were on scene for the event to support San Diego’s Blue Forces and ensure all operations ran smoothly. The joint solution uses CommandBridge to integrate the port’s existing and newly acquired assets—ESRI software, AIS, weather services, video management system (VMS), access control, tracking devices and more—and consolidate these systems into a single intuitive interface. Combined with an extensive Enesgy integration, the software allows ports to more effectively visualize and safeguard their entire critical infrastructure. Despite the amount of data being collected and displayed, the solution provides a de-cluttered picture to simplify understanding and focus on the most immediately relevant information. This streamlined awareness helps generate quicker responses to individual and cross-agency incidents.