Fireworks at McFarland

I guess folks get used to a front-row seat with the barge.  I had to ride over to South Seminary St. to get a good view. I hear the folks at the coliseum got a good view this year.

I will say the fireworks weren't quite as good as the shows I've seen here for the last 5 years.  Nice nonetheless.  I've heard and seen WVNA's advertising for the SOF event.

According to the paper, the barge that is normally used had some problems.  I believe it cropped up just a day or two before the event, and no replacement could be found.  They had to shoot from an alternate location.  Should be back on the barge next year.

I love how the know-it-alls spout off with zero facts to back it all up.

Usually, the maximum size shell of the fireworks display at the Spirit of Freedom festival is an 8" shell which used to require a minimum clearance of 560 ft radius. Under the new standards for a public fireworks displays as adopted by NFPA, the safety margin was increased to 100 feet per inch diameter of the shell. Around McFarland, there isn't a lot of options of firing an 8 inch shell with minimum risks. When it was discovered that the show could not be fired from the water, the size of the shells were reduced to a 6 inch maximum. 

This year, a lot of things occurred literally at the very minute and what most do not know is that things came within minutes of not having any public fireworks display at all. Yes, I too agree that things could have been better, but I also know that no one was hurt as the results of an accident from the professional fireworks. I encourage those involved, not to wait till the very last minute before finalizing their plans.