San Diego's annual 4th of July "Big Bay Boom" was just exactly that this year, after a malfunction turned the celebratory event "supernova"!
In one incredible moment, all of the fireworks being carried on three separate barges on the city's ocean front ignited at one time, creating a spectacular and thunderous explosion that sent enormous mushroom clouds into the sky! From certain angles around the city (for a few scary moments), it looked as if the city was under a nuclear attack. The massive explosion created a deafening blast that shattered nearby windows and caused the entire ground to shake, which was felt miles away. An intense blast of heat quickly followed the explosion.
So many of the explosives ignited at once, the display—meant to last for almost an hour—ended up being only a few minutes long. Hundreds of thousands of people who had lined up hours before the event began once the sun set were left hugely disappointed by the truncated annual fireworks display.
Garden State Fireworks, the New Jersey-based company that was hired for the fireworks display, is blaming a timing signal sent to the four barges in the harbor which triggered a simultaneous detonation of all of the fireworks on three of barges.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the powerful blast.
