Daily Herald opinion: A perfect storm: Too little information and too much conjecture fueled Lake Zurich fireworks drama

Before any TV soap operas aired for the day on July 4, a daytime drama of a different sort unfolded on social media.

Last Friday morning, the village of Lake Zurich posted notice on Facebook that the evening’s fireworks in Paulus Park were canceled because of weather. The announcement came just before 10 a.m.

“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 noted that other July 4 events at Paulus Park would go on. And they promised that the fireworks purchased for this year’s display would be added to next year’s, bringing a bit more bang to 2026’s Independence Day celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday.

Residents were quick to blast back, noting that the rain had stopped and no other nearby suburbs were canceling their displays. Some posters were angry; others poked fun, posting pictures of blank skies or marking themselves “safe” from fireworks in Lake Zurich.

Naturally, theories were quick to follow, including that officials had left fireworks out to be damaged by the morning rain.

Not true, Assistant Village Manager Michael Duebner told Steve Zalusky Monday for his follow-up story.

Duebner said that the rain made it unsafe to load the display onto barges used to launch the fireworks. The setup, he added, takes about 12 hours and includes rigging pontoon boats used as launch platforms.

“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.”

Those details, if shared last Friday, might have staved off the online fireworks that followed. Instead, too little information and too much conjecture erupted in a perfect storm of online indignation.

Losing a cherished part of the July 4 festivities in your hometown is disappointing. And while plenty of displays were scheduled nearby, there’s something special about hunkering down in the same spot every year, perhaps with the same group of friends.

Yet, sometimes a call must be made based on the information at hand. We remember a decade ago when Arlington Heights called off its Memorial Day parade the Friday before because of a potential storm forecast. Residents took to social media, calling the decision premature and unfortunate. But, organizers pointed out, many of the parade's 3,500 participants were expected to be children and elderly veterans. And if storms hit, there would not have been enough places to shelter.

Plus, canceling early meant saving money that would have been otherwise wasted.

It might not have been a popular call, but someone had to make it.

Ideally, we get the best possible weather on the days we want it most. But when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, better communication — and less contempt — can go a long way toward easing frustration.