The Big Bay Boom is an annual

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

fireworks Fireworks are 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 large numbe ...

display in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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

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

to watch the show.

History

For many years there has been a fireworks display over

from the city of

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

. Sandy Purdon, a marina owner and former president of the Port Tenants Association, got the idea to do a similar but larger 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 Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...

pier was added as a fifth location. However, in 2013 the city of

withdrew from participation, leaving the four Bay locations. 2020 saw the officials scrap the show due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. A TV special was aired in its place.

Description

The four barges are located in

adjacent to Shelter Island, Harbor Island, 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. 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) is a United States Navy hospital in San Diego, California. It is also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", and "The Pink Palace", due to the stucco of the first ...

, and

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego is a United States Navy base in San Diego, California. It is the world's second largest surface ship naval base. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet, consisting of over 50 ships ...

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 La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

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
{{Fireworks accidents and incidents 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 in the United States