Why Lake Zurich’s July 4 fireworks fizzled
An early morning rainstorm was responsible for extinguishing Lake Zurich’s Fourth of July fireworks show, village officials said Monday following days of rumors and exasperation swirling on social media.
Assistant Village Manager Michael Duebner said the fireworks were canceled Friday morning around 9:30 a.m. after rain made it unsafe to load fireworks onto launch barges. The downpour also deprived the village of the time needed to get the show underway, which usually takes about 12 hours.
Lake Zurich residents were expecting fireworks Friday night at Paulus Park, but were notified on the village’s Facebook page about the cancellation just before 10 a.m.
That’s when the fireworks erupted on social media, with a burst of speculation about the reasons behind the cancellation.
“Due to this morning's rain that is expected to continue for some time, conversations with the fireworks company and keeping everyone safe, we are not going to have fireworks this evening,” the village’s social media post read.
Village officials said Paulus Park would remain open for other July 4 offerings and promised to add the fireworks intended for this year to next year’s Independence Day display to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
That didn’t fly with the residents posting in the comments section.
Rumors swirled that the fireworks were left uncovered overnight and became wet. Others questioned why the show had to be rescheduled for next year instead of over the weekend.
Some resorted to jokes, including one poster who marked himself safe “From Fireworks and Freedom by the Brits at the Village of Lake Zurich!”
“No, the fireworks were not left out,” Duebner said. “No, the fireworks did not get wet. There was simply not enough time to safely arrange for the display. When you looked at the weather forecast Thursday, there was no rain. Then we had a deluge Friday morning.”
The fireworks contractor, J&M Displays, needs about 12 hours to safely rig the pontoon boats used as launch platforms for the 25-minute show. With rain continuing through the morning, there wasn't enough time to prepare for the 9:15 p.m. start.
“As our contractor stated, ‘You can't load fireworks in the rain. You can't load fireworks onto stuff that's wet,’” Duebner said. “We wanted to be sure nobody was endangered, nobody was going to be hurried to try and put something together.”
The village considered a smaller show later that evening but decided against it. When officials asked about rescheduling, the vendor was fully booked with other events.
Despite the cancellation, an estimated 6,000 people still attended the festival at Paulus Park, enjoying live bands, food trucks and other entertainment.
“We are hoping that we have all of the material from this year, and we’re going to then shoot what we have this year and we’re going to add something to it,” he said. “Next year is 250 years of the United States, so having a spectacular display, I think, is appropriate.”
Lake Zurich’s cancellation wasn’t the only suburban fireworks show to cause a kerfuffle. A joint Woodridge-Downers Grove area fireworks show Friday started 30 minutes early, leaving some of those getting there to see the start of a 9:30 p.m. show only catching the finale of a show that began at 9 p.m.
“We understand that many of you arrived expecting to see the full show, only to find it already underway or completed, and that’s not the experience we wanted for anyone,” organizers posted on Facebook. “We know the frustration and disappointment it caused and are currently reviewing with our pyrotechnics vendor to understand how this happened.”