Linda Detroy

Black Hawk

City and fire officials in Black Hawk expect to celebrate the Fourth of July with a fireworks show set to music, but they say that could change at any moment. “We’re looking at the significant wildland fire potential outlook reports every day, scrutinizing those every day,” said Fire Chief Don Taylor. “The plans may change within an hour on the Fourth, but for now, the reports look okay.”

City Council members indicated they support preparing for the fireworks show and going ahead with it, if local fire officials give it the final nod. City Manager Jack Lewis told the Council the potential outlook reports come from National Interagency Coordination Center and indicate there is little or no risk of large fires in the Black Hawk area. The reports can be found online at predictiveservices.NIFC.gov/outlooks/outlooks.htm.

“I don’t want to belittle this; it’s still dry, still a concern, but it’s not quite as critical as last year. If conditions get real hot, real dry and the winds are blowing 40 miles per hour on July 4, we may have to make a decision we don’t like.”

Lewis said the Timberline and Central City fire departments have agreed to provide resources on the Fourth. Taylor said the fireworks company would set up the show over the weekend.

“We’ll still have to wait and see. We’ll make a go/no-go decision that day.”

Fireworks show to have streaming coordinated music

The fireworks company has created a program of music coordinated to the fireworks display, said Jeff Young, Black Hawk’s director of information technology. The music will be streamed to the Internet for fireworks viewers to access on any 3G or 4G device, such as a cellphone.

To access the music, viewers can go to the city’s website, www.cityofblackhawk.org and follow the link on the homepage. In addition, Young said, the casinos have agreed to play the music on their sound systems during the fireworks show. He said the City will also air the music from the bell tower and some outside speakers.

The fireworks show, featuring 12,000 aerial shells, is scheduled to begin at dusk and last 30 to 40 minutes. The show will include many newly designed fireworks and should be visible from most locations around the city. The July Fourth festivities also will include a performance by the Boom Town Band at the Stroehle Square gazebo, at the corner of Black Hawk and Main streets, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Watch city website for updates. Taylor said people can find out if the fireworks are a go by monitoring the city’s website. In addition, if the fireworks are canceled, Black Hawk will be added to the list of canceled fireworks shows maintained by Channel 9 News, online at 9news.com.