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HILO >> Independence Day Revelers in Hilo had to wait more than 40 minutes for their Fourth of July fireworks show and then never got to see a promised big finale. A pyrotechnician is blaming a computer glitch for the problems.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports the show was set to start at 8 p.m., but the fireworks didn’t explode until about 8:47 p.m. The show lasted between six and eight minutes and there was no apparent finale.
Donald Pascual of Hawaii Explosives and Pyrotechnics had promised “10 minutes of spectacular pyrotechnics” when he spoke to the newspaper last month.
He said Sunday that his computers crashed.
“All of our equipment is fairly brand new. We’ve got a top-of-the-line firing system. Basically, there was a fail in there,” Pascual said.
Pascual plans to put on another show in Hilo this summer to make it up to residents. A date for the new show will be announced later, he said.
“We’re gonna do a big bash and we’re going to give Hilo what they missed out on,” he said.
The Hilo show cost about $33,000. The Hawaii Fire Department paid for a little more than half using revenue from individual fireworks permits. Another $10,000 came from the contingency fund of Hawaii County Council Chairman J Yoshimoto. Hilo Jaycees paid the remaining $6,000.
