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At a glance
- Was there a petition? Yes. It sought action against the 2025 Big Bear Lake show.
- How many people signed? The organizer reported 40,680 signatures when it closed; the petition page currently shows 40,629 supporters.
- Did the fireworks happen? Yes, on July 4, 2025.
- Did fireworks make Sunny and Gizmo disappear? That has not been proven. Their last reliable sightings were before the fireworks, and normal juvenile dispersal was already underway.
- Was a new nationwide ban created? No. The petition had no force of law, and no new national ban resulted.
The most accurate account is narrower than the viral headline: the fireworks caused an observable flight response from an adult eagle and triggered a major public backlash, while the whereabouts of Sunny and Gizmo remained uncertain. The parents returned within roughly two days. Friends of Big Bear Valley’s contemporaneous eagle log does not establish that the fireworks caused either eaglet to leave, become injured or die.
What the 2025 petition actually demanded
The Change.org petition was created on June 24, 2025, as Sunny and Gizmo approached their first Fourth of July after leaving the nest. It called for Big Bear Lake’s professional fireworks show to be canceled or postponed and suggested alternatives such as a drone or light show.
Its supporters feared that explosive booms, flashes and smoke could frighten Jackie, Shadow and the young birds away from their roost, expose inexperienced eaglets to hazards or interfere with the family’s normal care. The petition’s closing update reported 40,680 signatures in nine days. The page itself now lists 40,629 supporters, so those figures should be understood as two different counts rather than treated as an exact, uncontested total. Read the petition and its updates.
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That was a public campaign about one local event—not a nationwide vote, a court order, legislation or a new legal ban. The wording sometimes used online, such as Americans demanding a new ban, overstates what the available evidence shows. The documented demand came from petition supporters, eagle-cam viewers and wildlife advocates concerned about the Big Bear display.
Who are Jackie, Shadow, Sunny and Gizmo?
Jackie and Shadow are a well-known bald eagle pair nesting near Big Bear Lake in Southern California. Their nest and nearby habitat have been monitored through livestream cameras operated by Friends of Big Bear Valley.
The pair produced three chicks in 2025. One chick, later named Misty, died during a March snowstorm. The two surviving chicks were named Sunny and Gizmo after a public contest that received more than 54,000 submissions. ABC News reported on the naming and the family’s 2025 season.
Sunny made a first flight, or fledged, on June 2. Gizmo fledged on June 7. Fledging means that a young bird has left the nest and flown; it does not necessarily mean the bird is fully independent. Young eagles may still depend on their parents for food and guidance for weeks after their first flight.
The timeline: what happened before, during and after July 4
| Date | What was documented |
|---|---|
| March 2025 | One of the three chicks, later named Misty, died during a snowstorm. |
| June 2 | Sunny fledged. |
| June 7 | Gizmo fledged. |
| June 24 | A Change.org petition was created seeking cancellation, postponement or replacement of the Fourth of July fireworks show. |
| June 26–27 | Sunny and Gizmo were still seen around the nest tree and nearby habitat. Friends of Big Bear Valley said their nest visits were becoming less frequent as they explored farther and were fed away from the nest. |
| July 1 | The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded to the concerns. It acknowledged that fireworks could disturb the eagles, recommended keeping the barge away from the nest and said the fledglings were capable of independent flight. |
| July 2–4 | Visit Big Bear and event partners proceeded with the professional show despite the petition. |
| July 4 | An adult eagle flew from the roost after booms began. The full display started later that evening, and no eagle was visible in the roost tree during the remainder of the observed sequence. |
| July 5–6 | Jackie and Shadow were seen back in the area and together again. |
| July 8 | Friends of Big Bear Valley reported that the adults were still visiting the habitat but Sunny and Gizmo had not been confirmed for several days. |
The late-June information is especially important. The eaglets had already been seen less often before the fireworks, and the nonprofit described their increasing exploration as consistent with normal development. See the late-June eagle-log entries.
What the cameras recorded on July 4
The strongest evidence that fireworks disturbed the family comes from the contemporaneous Friends of Big Bear Valley log:
- Jackie and Shadow were together in or near the roost tree before the display.
- At approximately 9 p.m., after booms began, one adult disappeared from the roost and was seen flying away on a security camera.
- Jackie made a warning call.
- The full fireworks display began at approximately 9:17 p.m. The event had been reported as scheduled for around 8:45 p.m.; the eagle log’s timing refers to the observed start of the main display.
- By about 9:18 p.m., no eagle was visible in the roost tree.
- The fireworks continued for roughly another 20 minutes.
- Neither adult was seen or heard near the nest the following morning.
This supports a careful statement that the fireworks coincided with—and very likely triggered—an immediate flight response by an adult eagle. It does not prove injury, death, permanent displacement, nest abandonment or a violation of federal law. The full July 4–8 eagle log is available from Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Jackie and Shadow returned
The adults did not permanently abandon the area. One adult was seen at about 5:30 p.m. on July 5. Shadow was seen near Twin Pines shortly after 7 p.m., followed by Jackie, who vocalized. By July 6, both adults had been observed together again.
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Their return was reassuring, but it does not make the disturbance irrelevant. An eagle can be startled from a roost and later return. The observation shows a short-term response, not necessarily lasting harm or harmlessness. Coverage from the LAist and the Los Angeles Times also documented the adults’ return.
Were Sunny and Gizmo driven away by the fireworks?
There is no verified answer that supports that claim. Sunny and Gizmo’s last reliable sightings were around June 26–27, several days before July 4. By July 6–8, they had not been confirmed on the nest cameras. That chronology leaves a real question, but it does not establish a cause-and-effect chain.
| Claim | What the evidence supports |
|---|---|
| The fireworks startled an adult eagle. | Supported by the camera and eagle-log account of an adult flying away after the booms began. |
| Jackie and Shadow permanently left Big Bear. | Not supported. Both adults returned within roughly one to two days. |
| Sunny and Gizmo were not seen on the livestream after the fireworks. | Accurate, with an important qualification: their last confirmed sightings preceded the show. |
| The fireworks made the eaglets disappear. | Unproven. Normal post-fledging exploration and dispersal were already plausible explanations. |
| Sunny or Gizmo was injured or killed. | No authoritative source in the documented record established this. |
There are several reasons the cameras could not settle the question:
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- Camera coverage is limited. A fledgling may be in another tree, near the lake or outside the livestream’s field of view.
- Fledglings naturally range farther. Friends of Big Bear Valley reported that the young eagles were visiting the nest less often and being fed away from it before July 4.
- Fledge does not equal full independence. The birds could fly but might still have been relying on their parents.
- Distant juvenile sightings were not conclusive. Later hatch-year birds could not be positively identified as Sunny or Gizmo because the eaglets were unbanded and too far away for reliable identification.
Friends of Big Bear Valley said the eaglets might already have been dispersing naturally and that it could not determine whether they remained nearby. The most defensible wording is therefore: Sunny and Gizmo were not confirmed on camera after the fireworks, but the available evidence does not show that the fireworks caused their disappearance.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley
The nonprofit opposed the 2025 display and has argued that fireworks can disturb wildlife. Its materials point to the combination of loud explosions, flashes, smoke and sudden pressure changes as potential hazards, particularly when birds are roosting or caring for young. It also described the adults’ flight response as a serious concern because the eaglets were newly fledged.
However, its contemporaneous records did not claim that Sunny or Gizmo had been killed by the fireworks. The organization also urged followers not to harass, dox or aggressively target officials and event organizers. Read its fireworks-impact presentation and proposed alternatives.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took a more qualified position in a July 1 response. The agency:
- recognized the public concern;
- acknowledged that fireworks could disturb the eagles;
- recommended positioning the fireworks barge away from the nest;
- noted that the fledglings were capable of independent flight; and
- said it did not believe the event, at that stage of the birds’ development, would cause direct take or nest failure.
That letter was not a finding that fireworks are harmless to wildlife generally. Nor was it a blanket ruling that any future display near the habitat could never create a legal problem. It was an assessment of the specific Big Bear circumstances presented to the agency. Read the USFWS response letter.
Visit Big Bear and local event partners
Visit Big Bear and the event partners treated the fireworks as a professionally managed community tradition with economic and tourism value. They emphasized that the display was staged over the lake, positioned away from the nest and coordinated with safety and agency considerations. The show proceeded as planned.
Those arguments involve a genuine trade-off: the event is discretionary and potentially replaceable, but it also supports local businesses during a major holiday weekend. A professionally managed display may reduce some risks compared with uncontrolled fireworks, but professional management does not mean there is no wildlife disturbance.
San Bernardino County
The petition page reproduces a response attributed to Supervisor Dawn Rowe. According to that page, Rowe said the event was paid for and hosted by Visit Big Bear with a local community organization and permitted by the Big Bear Municipal Water District and Big Bear Fire Authority, rather than by the county. She reportedly supported considering drone alternatives but said the county did not have jurisdiction over the event.
Because the original government correspondence is not linked in the available record, those details should be attributed to the petition page rather than presented as an independently verified county document.
Is a fireworks display near an eagle nest illegal?
Not automatically. Bald eagles are protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The statute prohibits unauthorized take, and its definition includes actions such as molesting or disturbing an eagle.
Under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations and guidance, disturbance becomes legally significant when it agitates or bothers an eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause:
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- injury;
- a decrease in productivity by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding or sheltering behavior; or
- nest abandonment through substantial interference with normal breeding, feeding or sheltering behavior.
An eagle flying away after a loud boom is evidence of disturbance in the ordinary sense, but it is not automatically proof that a prohibited take occurred. The legal analysis depends on the severity and consequences of the disturbance, the available evidence, the circumstances of the event and any applicable authorization or agency review. No enforcement action or legal finding in the documented record concluded that Big Bear’s 2025 display violated the Eagle Act.
Federal bald-eagle management guidance identifies loud, intermittent noises such as blasting within one-half mile of an in-use bald eagle nest as activities requiring special consideration. That is a planning and disturbance-avoidance framework—not a universal rule that fireworks are forbidden within exactly one-half mile of every eagle nest. See the National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11California law also matters. California Fish and Game Code section 3503 generally prohibits taking, possessing or needlessly destroying a bird’s nest or eggs, subject to statutory exceptions. It should not be described as an automatic ban on a permitted fireworks display near an eagle nest. The state provision focuses on nests and eggs, while federal eagle-disturbance rules address broader effects on adult eagles, breeding, feeding, sheltering and nest abandonment.
Separately, personal fireworks were illegal throughout Big Bear Valley. That restriction concerned private fireworks and was distinct from the official professional lake display. The Big Bear Fire Department’s notice explains the local rule.
What science says about fireworks and birds
Research supports concern about fireworks as a general wildlife-disturbance issue, but it cannot by itself prove what happened to Sunny and Gizmo.
A 2024 peer-reviewed study using weather radar and bird counts found roughly 1,000 times as many birds in flight on New Year’s Eve as on comparable nights. The disturbance decreased with distance but remained elevated as far as approximately 10 kilometers in the study area. Larger-bodied bird communities showed stronger responses. The researchers suggested fireworks-free zones or concentrating displays in urban areas as possible mitigation. Read the study.
A separate radar study in Birmingham, England, found that birds flew in greater numbers and at higher elevations during fireworks periods. It was not a bald-eagle study, so it provides general context rather than proof of an effect on this family. Read the Birmingham radar study.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also described different outcomes at two Oregon seabird colonies. A display about 0.62 miles from one colony was associated with alarm flights and some nest abandonment, while a display about 1.36 miles from another colony caused little or no observed disturbance. The comparison shows why distance, species, nesting stage, local geography and prior tolerance matter. It does not establish a universal safe distance for every fireworks display and every eagle nest. Read the USFWS seabird study summary.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was there a new ban after the backlash?
No. The 2025 fireworks show proceeded, and the petition did not create a legal restriction. There was no documented nationwide ban or national policy movement resulting from the campaign.
The practical proposals raised in the controversy were more specific:
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- Cancel or postpone one event: the petition’s primary request for July 4, 2025.
- Move the launch site: place the fireworks barge farther from the known nest or roost.
- Adopt a permanent local restriction: create a fireworks-free buffer around occupied eagle habitat.
Those are different policy choices. A petition seeking the first does not establish the third.
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What happened in the 2026 follow-up?
The dispute continued in 2026, but the young birds were not Sunny and Gizmo. Jackie and Shadow produced a later clutch named Sandy and Luna. Advocates again petitioned against the Big Bear show because the younger eaglets were closer to the nest-bound or early-fledgling stage around July 4.
Visit Big Bear proceeded with the display. Its 2026 statement said the barge was approximately two miles from the nest, the show lasted under 30 minutes and organizers sought to reduce the loudest booms. Those operational details should not be retroactively assumed to describe the 2025 event.
Friends of Big Bear Valley’s July 4, 2026 log reported audible wingbeats and that the adults were not immediately visible, but Sandy and Luna were found the next morning. Shadow resumed feeding them, and the nonprofit reported that the young birds were doing well and continued visiting the nest. See the 2026 eagle-log entry and Visit Big Bear’s 2026 response.
This later episode illustrates two points at once: fireworks can visibly disturb adult eagles without proving lasting harm, and the 2025 disappearance of Sunny and Gizmo cannot be treated as proof of a causal chain.
A separate July 2026 report about an adult eagle believed to be Jackie being rescued and treated after an encounter with subadult eagles is also unrelated to the 2025 fireworks controversy. LAist reported on that later incident.
What would a stronger wildlife policy look like?
The debate is not limited to choosing between an unrestricted fireworks show and doing nothing. A more evidence-based policy could evaluate:
- a permanent fireworks-free buffer around occupied eagle nests and important roosts;
- moving the launch barge farther from known eagle habitat;
- choosing a date outside the most sensitive breeding, nesting or early-fledging period;
- using lower-noise pyrotechnics, fewer aerial shells or reduced explosive charges;
- replacing explosive fireworks with drones, lasers, projections or coordinated lights;
- independent wildlife monitoring before, during and after the event;
- a clear stop-or-relocate trigger if eagles are incubating, nest-bound or caring for dependent young; and
- public release of permits, agency consultations, environmental reviews and post-event monitoring.
Supporters of cancellation or relocation can point to the documented adult flight response, research showing that fireworks disturb birds at substantial distances, the protected status of bald eagles and the availability of quieter alternatives. Supporters of proceeding can point to the fledglings’ ability to fly, the short duration and professional management of the event, the USFWS assessment that direct take or nest failure was not expected at that stage, the adults’ return and the show’s tourism value.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe most responsible conclusion is neither that the fireworks were harmless nor that they caused the eaglets to vanish. The record supports a real disturbance and a legitimate policy debate, but not the strongest viral claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Sunny and Gizmo die because of the Big Bear fireworks?
No. There is no authoritative evidence establishing that either eaglet died, was injured or permanently left Big Bear because of the July 4, 2025 display. They were not confirmed on camera after the fireworks, but their last reliable sightings were on June 26–27, and normal post-fledging dispersal was already underway.
Was the Big Bear fireworks show canceled or banned?
No. The professional show proceeded as scheduled in 2025. The Change.org petition had no legal force and did not create a local, state or nationwide ban. Personal fireworks were separately illegal in Big Bear Valley.
Did Jackie and Shadow abandon their nest?
No. The adults temporarily left the roost after the fireworks, but both were seen back in the area on July 5–6. That demonstrates a short-term flight response, not permanent nest abandonment.
Could the fireworks have violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act?
A disturbance is not automatically a federal violation merely because an eagle flies away. The Eagle Act’s legal standard concerns unauthorized take and disturbance that causes, or is likely to cause, injury, substantial interference with normal behavior or nest abandonment. No documented enforcement action or legal finding concluded that the 2025 display violated the act.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: More than 40,000 people signed a petition asking Big Bear Lake to cancel, postpone or replace its 2025 fireworks show. The display visibly disturbed an adult eagle, but Jackie and Shadow returned within days. Sunny and Gizmo had last been reliably seen before the fireworks and were already ranging farther from the nest. Their later absence from the cameras remains unexplained; it is not proof that fireworks made them disappear, injured them or killed them. No new nationwide ban resulted.
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