The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Fireworks burst above Highway 200.
Large displays of private fireworks explode above the treeline. The private displays, seen from across the valley, are a big part of Lincoln's Independence Day celebration.
Fireworks from the LVCC's largest display yet explode over Lincoln School at about 11p.m. July 4.
Private fireworks displays provide a show from across the valley.
Private fireworks displays provide a show from across the valley.
Lincoln's annual Fourth of July fireworks show got off the ground a little later than usual this year, after a new wireless digital firing system had difficulty syncing with the modules that set off the fireworks.
The Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce invested in the new COBRA system in April to replace the worn and outdated firing system that was hardwired to the fireworks.
"With the old system, basically we had to be with 100 feet of the show and it relied on manual timing and manual firing of the fireworks," said Bill Frisbee, who has volunteered to help set up and run the fireworks show for the last six years. "It was a wiring nightmare."
The dangers of being in such proximity to explosives when they go off was brought into sharp focus for Frisbee two years ago, when a firework exploded before reaching a safe height and blew the hat off Frisbee's head. In March, while the LVCC board discussed their budget for the show he suggested they talk to their fireworks supplier about a new firing system.
"It's a safety issue. It's a time issue, it's a flexibility issue," he said. "The number one thing I think is safety. I was pretty much unwilling to go any further with the manual system."
Frisbee and Doug Richards traveled to Big Sky Fireworks in Helena to train on the new system in May. Frisbee got to work setting up the show at about 9 a.m. on the Fourth. "One thing people don't understand is the amount of time it takes to set up," he said.
He and Richards finished at about 10 p.m., after getting everything in place, wired and connected, and after completing all the safety checks.
Frisbee said he's not sure why the remote wasn't communicating with firing modules on the night of the show. He said when they did their pre-show test, everything checked out, but when it came time to fire the show, the remote and the modules wouldn't sync.
"As with any type of electronics, you have problems with things meshing and working correctly together, but once you have that figured out. It just goes," he said.
Although many private individuals brought sizable fireworks with them and kept the skies alight for much of the night, the wait for the LVCC's display caused some consternation among the spectators at Hooper Park and even saw a number of people leave.
The flurry of phone calls and text messages asking Frisbee and Richards why the show was late only added to the delay.
"For the show, you don't want to let people down, but there are things outside of your control. Syncing of the boxes; we just couldn't get them synced. Finally, they synced and it was like OK, push the button let's get it going," he said.
This year, instead of timing and firing each launch by sitting at a table a hundred feet from the tubes and staring at a timer and the manual control module, Frisbee and Richards were able to fire the show, move back several hundred feet and let the per-programmed show do its thing.
In addition to the delay a few of the fireworks, which were a hooked into one specific firing module didn't go off, but overall, Frisbee was satisfied with the outcome.
"Even with the issues we had last night, the show was a little over 15 minutes long, where normally it's a little over 12 minutes, almost 13," he said.
He's also certain the new system, which can handle considerably more fireworks in complex patterns and intervals, will give the LVCC the technical capability to host larger, more entertaining shows in the future, as they raise the funds for them.
"The flexibility with the new system, once the bugs are all worked out of it, to me is just going to be amazing," he said.
But first, Frisbee plans to take the new system back in to Big Sky Fireworks and have them download the data from the show to try to determine what went wrong. He also plans to work with the system a bit more before next year.
"Here in a couple months I'll set the modules out again and refigure things out and make sure they work correctly. The more you do things, the easier it becomes," he said.
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