The Big Bay Boom event in San Diego’s Glorietta Bay was cancelled only minutes after it was scheduled to begin
The San Diego fireworks malfunction that caused hundreds of fireworks to go off at the same time was reportedly caused by a computer glitch, according to organizers.
The San Diego fireworks malfunction occurred Wednesday approximately five minutes before the show was scheduled to start, at 9 p.m. The Big Bay Boom in San Diego’s Glorietta Bay is advertised as one of the largest fireworks displays in the nation and boasts of attracting half a million spectators.
This year’s 4th of July spectacle was advertised as being “bigger and more intense than in past years,” and intense it was. With hundreds of fireworks exploding within 15 seconds of one another, event coordinators were forced to cancel the show at approximately 9:20 p.m.
Port of San Diego authorities said that a “technical difficulty” resulted in the premature explosion.
A tweet from the Port of San Diego read, “We sincerely apologize for the technical glitch that affected the #BigBayBoom. Event producers are currently investigating the cause.”
August Santore, co-owner of Garden State Fireworks, spoke with San Diego morning television stations and was quoted, “We apologize to all the residents and all the people who missed their fireworks.”
Santore continued, “No one feels worse than us. We don’t look for anyone’s sympathy, we accept 100% responsibility.”
“We were hired to perform and do a contract and there is no excuse,” Santore added. “We will get to the bottom of it. It’s not something we take lightly.”
Santore has offered to do another fireworks display at no cost to the Big Bay Boom Committee, the organization, which produces the event.
Santore told NBCSanDiego.com that his company may even coordinate the Independence Day celebration fireworks show next year for free.
