Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display so good that Riverside residents called 911 – Press-Enterprise

Travis Long said he didnt think it would work that well.

But the pretend fire feature in his familys spooky Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display worked so well and looked so real some thought their Riverside house was on fire.

Between Oct. 3 and 9, people called the Riverside Fire Department five times to report a fire, city spokesman Phil Pitchford said.

Firefighters stopped by for a look once, he said, then realized the fire was merely a realistic re-creation of a scene from Disneylands beloved Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

In a bit of similar trivia, the Anaheim Fire Department worried when the attraction debuted in 1967 that its fire scene looked so authentic that people wouldnt be able to tell the difference between the fake blaze and a real one.

Riverside residents, from left, Dax Canillas, 6, sibling Nico, 2, and Nash Meeks, 10, pose Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, as their moms photograph them at a neighbors Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The Long family created a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display in front of their Riverside home at Magnolia Avenue and Chapman Place in Riverside on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

Riverside resident Esmeralda Granado, left, reacts Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, to skeletons hanging off a second-story window as daughter Savannah, 11, is more interested in her tablet at a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display in Riverside. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Travis Long, who created a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween scene at his Riverside home, prepares pirates for visitors Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. Hes very mechanically inclined, his wife, Carmen Long, said. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display mixes humor, a phony fire and moving skeletons in Riversides Wood Streets neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display is seen at the Riverside home of Travis and Carmen Long on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. The fake fire is created using satin sheets and lighting. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

About 400 a night visit a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed display in Riverside on Fridays through Sundays. Guests are seen at the Wood Streets neighborhood site Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Mia Long, 16, on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, rolls down the sails at her Riverside home, which boasts a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display. It includes an indoor fire scene and cannon-firing pirates. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside homeowner Travis Long prepares his Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. The scene, now in its fourth year, is lit up on Fridays through Sundays. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside resident Esmeralda Granado, left, photographs skeletons hanging off a second-story window as daughter Savannah, 11, uses a tablet Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A home Halloween display that includes pirate skulls is seen Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in Riversides Wood Streets neighborhood. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Pirates fire cannons at passersby at a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween scene in Riverside on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Skylar Jacobs, a 7-year-old Riverside resident, left, and sister Madison pose at a neighbors Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween scene Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

As for the Riverside firefighters, Pitchford said they left a note with dispatchers that, in essence, says if someone reports a fire in the Wood Streets a neighborhood known for elaborate holiday decorations it may be the Halloween house. Ask additional questions before sending a fire engine.

Longs wife, Carmen, said she calls the fire department every Friday to remind firefighters their display will be drawing attention over the weekend.

While fire engines arent rolling anymore to the house at Magnolia Avenue and Chapman Place, plenty of holiday-fun-seeking residents are.

Carmen Long said the display is lit from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and will run through Halloween night. During each two-hour window, about 400 people drop by to see it.

Visitors are wowed by the seeming realness of the fire, but also by the skeleton pirates spread across the property.

Travis Long said he created the fire effect with a satin sheet hanging from a curtain rod, a fan that blows the sheet around and an orange light trained on the sheet.

Besides the fake fire, there is pirate in a ship on the lawn, several pirates on the house, another pirate climbing a fence and two others firing a cannon for total of 10, Travis Long said.

We have more, he said. We just havent put them out. Were running out of space.

One pirate leans against the house and sings, Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me, he said. And we cant get it out of our heads now.

Meanwhile, sound and light effects mimic thunder and lightning.

Carmen Long said this is the fourth Halloween season she and her husband have transformed their home into a set from Pirates of the Caribbean and, yes, its their favorite Disneyland ride.

Its the second year that we have had the pretend fire, she said.

Carmen Long asks visitors to wear masks and maintain a safe distance from each other and park on a side street instead of on Magnolia Avenue, where they are likely to block a bicycle lane and impede traffic.

We want to be good neighbors, she said.

At the same time, the couple is thrilled that people are finding joy from the display in this pandemic-altered holiday season.

This year, Travis Long said, people are just happy to have something to take their kids to for 10 minutes.

Link:

Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween display so good that Riverside residents called 911 - Press-Enterprise