Bizarre, Politics

San Diego’s Big Bust

For the record, the Turley firework display last night for the neighborhood went off without a hitch –even with the oppressive heat. We were a bit more successful than San Diego’s “Big Bay Boom” after a glitch triggered all of the fireworks to explode at the same time. A twenty minute shows was reduced to 15 seconds.

August Santore of Garden State Fireworks told CNN: “This is very uncommon. There was nothing in the pyrotechnics that went wrong. It was the electronics.”

It will be interesting to learn what the contractual agreement states about a mishap like this. After all, all of the fireworks did go off. People were just hoping for a bit longer of a show.

The Port of San Diego tweeted: “We sincerely apologize for the technical glitch that affected the #BigBayBoom. Event producers are currently investigating the cause.”

Source: CNN

14 thoughts on “San Diego’s Big Bust”

  2. Back in ’86 my hometown’s display went off at once.

    A mortar misfired and landed in another portion of the display, next thing you know the entire 2nd half of the show is going off on the ground. Being that this was before most companies used electronic controls, there individuals lighting the show were severely burnt and one died. Ever since its been out on a barge controlled by electronics.

    We’ve been known to play with some fireworks at the lake. My older brother and I favorite thing to do is take mortars and set them up at about a 10 degree incline off the dock (bottom of the tube against of solid concrete step of course) and launch them over the lake…on a good shot the mortar will skip and blow about 5 feet off the water making for a fun display…sometimes they’ll dig into the water and blow up a foot under the water making for a large gyser of colorful water. Good Times.

  3. I’ll bet everyone who was there who didn’t depend on the fireworks going of for 15 minutes will never forget the display. rcampbell, on the other hand will always remember the display he missed. The story will be repeated every year and handed down as family lore.

  5. I live across the San Diego bay in a high rise condo complex in Coronado. We were nicely situated to watch the three simultaneous displays along the bay as well as the local Coronado display from a friend’s top floor unit balcony. I had just slipped into the bathroom a couple of minutes before 9:00 so I wouldn’t miss any of the action when I heard the sudden, loud burst of a lot of fireworks. I wasn’t concerned as I knew they were scheduled to continue for about 15 minutes with the coordinated music being broadcast on one of the radio stations. When I came out all I saw were three spent plumes of smoke along the bay. Fortunately, the Coronado display was seperate and went off without a hitch. It must have really grim for the families who bundled up the kiddies (it’s a bit cool along the coast on early July nights), packed some food and waited for hours. There are tens of thousands of folks from Arizona (–Zonies)* who descend on SD in July and August and who make the Fourth a big part of their summer vacation that I’m sure were really disappointed.

    * The dashes (–) represent the expletives SD locals insert prior to saying “Zonies”.

  7. Sure reminds me of something else just as spectacular, and also in front of awaiting spectators:

  9. I’ve had that happen on a smaller scale…… Never ever load a mortar upside down…….causes a lot of unintended consequences…… Including the wife being passed……. Then there’s the repair to the house…… Those were the days……

  11. While many voice some disappointment, nearly all took it in stride. Similar to the Black out of all Southern California, people made the best of it.

  12. Several years ago, the fireworks at Riverside, CA, were late. The contractor put on the show after midnight, instead of the scheduled time (9:30?), after everyone had gone home and gone to bed. The city sued.

  13. Something similar happened to my dad when he was a young man. The fireworks were set up on a bridge which crossed a large river as it entered the lake. He watched from a boat on the lakeside of the bride. There were a couple of hundred boats.

    Same thing happened as at San Diego, only the firing platform tilted onto its side. The whole barrage went off right above the boats. Some got hurt.

    Made an indelible impression, he said, as well as a temporary inaudible situation.

  14. The good news is that no-one was killed, maimed, or hurt.

    Except for loosing the anticipated emotions of joy at the colorful display.

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