Following last year’s absence of a town-sponsored fireworks show on the Fourth of July, Haines Borough officials are laying the groundwork for a small fireworks display, using the Port Chilkoot Dock as a staging area.
The plan to date is for a show using fewer than 250 pounds of fireworks, which would remove some logistical hurdles, including fire marshal approval. Using the dock as a base and aiming rockets over Lynn Canal would provide a good view for spectators at Fort Seward, organizers said this week.
Borough fireman Al Badgley said a small, professional show has advantages over last year’s arrangement, when the borough didn’t stage a show but dropped enforcement of a law that prohibits blasting fireworks in the townsite.
That arrangement worked, in part, because heavy rains quashed any risk of fire, Badgley said. “Last year we were lucky.” If recent dry weather continues, that might not be the case, he said.
A municipal show also is preferable for its use of professional pyrotechnicians who understand safety, Badgley said.
“Those people know what they’re doing. In the past, we’ve had hand and eye injuries from (private) people shooting off fireworks bigger than they know how to handle. People have a tendency of not knowing what they’re doing. These are some situations we want to try to avoid,” Badgley said.
Some past concerns about using the Port Chilkoot Dock as a staging area involved old, dry dock timbers and exposed creosote on the former dock, which posed a heightened fire danger. The rebuilt dock uses only pressure-treated deck timbers and poses a reduced risk, Badgley said.
Hosing down the dock before or after the show are options for further reducing risk, Badgley said.
The plan for the fireworks still must be approved by borough fire chief Scott Bradford and other borough officials. The show would last about 10 minutes and cost about $2,000, said Michael Marks, a volunteer involved in the effort.
The municipal show was cancelled last year when local pyrotechnician Phillip Wilde said he wouldn’t put on the larger display, citing “drama, politics and stress.”