Big Bay Boom is an annual

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

display in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The event has been put on since 2001. It is claimed to be one of the largest annual fireworks displays in the United States. It is "one of the most logistically complex displays in the world;" from 2010 through 2012 it spanned 14 miles and five locations. The primary sponsor is the

Port of San Diego The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In add ...

. Since 2014 the fireworks are presented by Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, which acquired former presenter San Diego Fireworks. Half a million people congregate on the shores of

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...

to watch the show.

History

For many years there has been a fireworks display over San Diego Bay from the city of

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...

. 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 Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

pier was added as a fifth location. However, in 2013 the city of Imperial Beach withdrew from participation, leaving the four Bay locations. 2020 saw the officials scrap the show caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. A TV special was aired in its place.

Description

The four barges are located in San Diego Bay adjacent to Shelter Island,

Harbor Island Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, US, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then the largest art ...

, North Embarcadero, and South Embarcadero. All four locations shoot off identical, simultaneous pyrotechnics, coordinated with a patriotic sound track played over a local radio station. As of 2019, the broadcast rights are held by CHR station

KHTS-FM KHTS-FM (93.3 MHz) is a top 40 radio station that is licensed to El Cajon, California and serves the San Diego market. The station is owned by , through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and brands as "Channel 9-3-3". The station's studios are locate ...

. 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 Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", or "The Pink Palace" (because the stucco of the first buildings that were constructed was pinkish in color), is a tech ...

, and

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, cons ...

Legal issues

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. 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.

2012 incident

In 2012, a show presented by Garden State Fireworks went awry. On Wednesday, July 4, 2012, 7,000 fireworks, intended for a 17-minute display, discharged prematurely and simultaneously from all four barges and the pier. The entire cache exploded in less than a minute. The coordinated fireworks are triggered by computer, and the premature discharge was blamed on a corrupted computer file. There were no injuries; workers on the barges took refuge in metal shelters designed for their protection. Garden State Fireworks apologized and promised to do a future show for free. The accident went viral on the internet.

References

External links

Big Bay Boom website
{{coord missing, San Diego County, California Fireworks in the United States Culture of San Diego Independence Day (United States) festivals San Diego Bay Annual events in California Recurring events established in 2001 2001 establishments in California Tourist attractions in San Diego 2012 in California Explosions in 2012 July 2012 events in the United States