Longmonters expect the usual patriotic flourish to top off their Fourth of July fireworks – bouquets of exploding stars and crossettes of flashing comets.
What they saw instead was a fizzled- out dud, and they want a fireworks company to cough up a refund.
“I’ve had to apologize to people in the community that the fireworks weren’t up to our usual standard,” Fire Chief Steve Trunck said.
Among those left disappointed were members of the Inskeep family, who always enjoy a spectacular show under a starlit night at Sunset Golf Course.
But when Katherine Inskeep’s two children and husband returned home Wednesday night last week, they reported seeing something else.
“They were not impressed,” Inskeep said. “The finale did not add up at all for them.”
Trunck wants the fireworks vendor – Lantis Fireworks and Lasers – to give back a portion of the $19,500 the city paid for the show at the Boulder County Fairgrounds.
Company head Ken Lantis said he will gladly make amends to the city, where he has provided fireworks for the past four years.
He will refund the city for every shell that didn’t light up.
“I know those people in Longmont, and I’m friends with them,” Lantis said. “And I want to do business with them again.”
Most of the 30-minute show went well, with an aerial display filled with multiple comets and exploding stars.
But the heavy wind delayed the show at least once, and then just before the final flourish, Trunck said, an equipment failure disrupted wiring on the display’s circuit boards.
That prevented 25 to 30 shells from going off.
“That left a lot of people saying, ‘Well, that was kind of a dud,”‘ Trunck said.
Longmont residents have been talking about – and bashing – the display for the past several days, said Michael Selan, hazardous materials inspector for the Longmont Fire Department.
“People here are passionate about their fireworks, and if anything goes wrong, we hear about it,” Selan said.
Resident Tom McCoy, a former City Council member, was one of those underwhelmed by the performance.
“They usually have a great, grand finale, but it didn’t go off at all,” McCoy said.
Cities depend on a good fireworks display so people will come back year after year.
“And if things don’t go well, the cities are left holding the bag,” McCoy said.
Trunck said Lantis has put on a good show in the past, noting this is the last year of the company’s contract with the city.
Lantis – based out of Utah – has been in business for 63 years. Ken Lantis said his work is widely respected in the intermountain region.
“We put on hundreds of shows on the Fourth,” Lantis said, “but sometimes you make mistakes.
“And I hate to mess up finales,” he added. “You can mess up everything else, but you have to have a good finale.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
