Technical difficulties meant the City of St. John’s couldn’t start 2011 off with a bang.
The city’s fireworks display fizzled early this morning, but has been postponed until tonight at 7 p.m. at Quidi Vidi Lake, weather permitting.
“Fireworks nowadays are fired electronically, so they’re all wired into a computer board,” said Bernadette Walsh, the city’s special projects officer, late this morning. “From what I understand from our pyrotechnician, everything was a go. They tested the board before we used it. It was fine for our test shot at 11:55, and fine for the beginning of the show, but for some reason, one part of the circuitry just — I don’t know the technical word for it — just kind of blew or fried.”
The city made a couple of attempts to see if there was enough circuitry left to fire off the rest of the show, with no success. By about 12:25, with the crowds getting cold, the city decided to postpone the display.
“It’s impossible to do a manual firing of the show, if you’re set up for electronic,” said Walsh. “It’s not a matter of hitching a flare to the bottom of a stick and lighting it up. There’s a different configuration.”
The city’s second attempt tonight at 7 p.m. on Quidi Vidi Lake will be dependent on conditions, cautioned Walsh. Environment Canada issued a heavy wind warning early this morning, but as of noon, conditions seemed good for the display to go ahead. Residents can call 311 to check with the city to see if the show is a go for tonight.
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