The Big Bay Boom is an annual Independence Day fireworks display in San Diego, California. The event has been put on since 2001. It is claimed to be one of the largest annual fireworks displays in the United States.^[1] It is "one of the most logistically complex displays in the world," spanning 14 miles and five locations.^[2] The primary sponsor is the Port of San Diego and the fireworks are presented by Garden State Fireworks, Inc. Half a million people congregate on the shores of San Diego Bay to watch the show.^[3]

History [edit]

For many years there has been a fireworks display over San Diego Bay from the city of Coronado, California. Sandy Purdon, a marina owner and former president of the Port Tenants Association, got the idea to do a similar but bigger fireworks show from the San Diego side of the Bay. He recruited financial support from other bayside business owners and brought the Port of San Diego on board with financial and in-kind support. The first display in 2001 involved fireworks from two barges in San Diego Bay. The event grew to involve three barges in 2004 and four barges in 2005. In 2010 the Imperial Beach pier was added as a fifth location.^[4]

Description [edit]

The four barges are located in San Diego Bay adjacent to Shelter Island, Harbor Island, North Embarcadero, and South Embarcadero. The fifth location is the Imperial Beach pier on the Pacific Ocean. All five locations shoot off identical, simultaneous pyrotechnics, coordinated with a patriotic sound track played over a local radio station.

Purdon continues as the executive producer through a company he started for the purpose, H. P. Purdon & Co. The event is underwritten by financial contributions by many businesses and organizations. Any excess revenues are contributed to the San Diego Armed Services YMCA, a non-profit that provides services to military service members and their families at three locations in Murphy Canyon, Naval Medical Center San Diego, and Naval Base San Diego.^[5]

Legal issues [edit]

Starting in 2010 the future of the fireworks show has been called into question due to threatened legal action by the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, which claims that additional pollution and environmental permits are required for fireworks displays.^[6] The Foundation to date has not filed any legal action against the Big Bay Boom, proceeding instead with a series of legal actions against a fireworks show in La Jolla.^[7]

2012 incident [edit]

An accident occurred on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, when 7,000 fireworks,^[3] intended for a 17-minute display, discharged prematurely and simultaneously from all four barges and the pier.^[8] The entire cache exploded in less than a minute.^[9]

The coordinated fireworks are triggered by computer, and the premature discharge was blamed on a corrupted computer file.^[10] There were no injuries;^[11] workers on the barges took refuge in metal shelters designed for their protection.^[3] Garden State Fireworks apologized and promised to do a future show for free.^[8] The accident went viral on the internet.^[12]

References [edit]

1. ^ Kindelan, Kelly (July 5, 2012). "San Diego Fireworks Show Goes Up in Flames". ABC News. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
2. ^ Netburn, Deborah (July 12, 2012). "San Diego fireworks fiasco blamed on overzealous computer backup". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 July 2012. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Lee, Mike; Horn, Jonathan; McDonald, Jeff (July 5, 2012). "Pyrotechnic misfire blamed on computer problems". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
4. ^ "Our Story". Big Bay Boom. Retrieved 21 July 2012. 
5. ^ "Armed Services YMCA San Diego". Retrieved 23 July 2012. 
6. ^ Lee, Mike (April 30, 2010). "Fighting over Fourth of July fireworks; Big Bay Boom organizers battling environmentalists over American tradition". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 23 July 2012. 
7. ^ Lee, Mike. "Fireworks lawsuit lights up again in La Jolla". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 23 July 2012. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Perry, Tony (July 6, 2012). "Big Bay Bust". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
9. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/computer-glitch-blamed-for-big-bay-boom-that-went-bust.html
10. ^ Horn, Jonathan (July 12, 2012). "July 4 fireworks fiasco solved - technically". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 23 July 2012. 
11. ^ Spagat, Elliot (July 5, 2012). "San Diego fireworks malfunction in big, fast flash". AP, cited at Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
12. ^ Netburn, Deborah (July 7, 2012). "Worldwide boom: San Diego fireworks get 4 million YouTube views". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 July 2012. 

External links [edit]

• Big Bay Boom website