Gonzaga Apologizes for Celebratory Fireworks - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Gonzaga Apologizes for Celebratory Fireworks

Apparently not everyone got the message that it was Gonzaga's 125th birthday yesterday. And it looks like even fewer people knew there were going to be fireworks after the game against BYU. Real fireworks in January.

File this under the "no good deed goes unpunished" category.

The loud booms and bangs started so many people that police reported receiving several calls of shots being fired in the East Spokane. People didn't know what was going on. The KHQ newsroom was inundated by calls too. As the fireworks continued, people wrote on the news station's Facebook wall that they were rudely awakened, and the noise startled their pets and children. Only a few viewers defended the university.

The situation was so grievous that Gonzaga issued an apology through Facebook on Friday morning:

Our apologies to all who were startled by the fireworks at Gonzaga last evening. We apologize for the disturbance and hope the Spokane community will understand the exuberance behind the celebration of Gonzaga's 125th Anniversary year. It is a privilege for Gonzaga to be part of this city and we wanted to share the excitement over this milestone with everyone.

Thanks to the generosity of a donor, we confirmed the opportunity to have fireworks only a couple weeks ago. Since then, we spread word through media interviews, press releases, website, social media and flyers. All major media were informed about the fireworks plan at least a week prior to the event, and several TV and radio stations, as well as the weekly and print newspapers, shared information about the festivities.

We regret that all residents did not received word, and again, hope you will accept our apologies. Thank you for your continued support.