The countdown to the annual Big Bay Boom is on.
"San Diego Bay is the best place in the world for fireworks — it’s so picturesque," said Sam Bruggema of Pyro Spectaculars Inc. "You can’t get a better location in America."
Bruggema is in charge of setting up the show which attracts around 500,000 people to the waterfront.
"It’s a natural medium of joy," he said of fireworks shows. "It makes you happy."
The show, which consists of more than four tons of explosives, is launched from several barges scattered throughout San Diego Bay. Bruggema said there's not a bad seat in the bay to see the fireworks.
"Go to shelter island, go to harbor island, go to Embarcadero down by the Midway," he said.
The show will last for about 20 minutes and be synced to music on the following radio stations: Star 94.1, Channel 93.3, JAM’N 95.7, 101.5 KGB, ROCK 105.3, NewsRadio 600 KOGO and XTRA Sports 1360.
For those who remember the Big Bay “Bust” of 2012 , when the show malfunctioned and all the fireworks went off in just 15 seconds, Bruggema said his computer system has fail-safes to prevent such a thing from happening again. He also pointed out that another company was in charge of that show.
"That was [an unfortunate] incident and thank God no one got hurt — but glad it wasn't me," he said.
Port of San Diego Harbor Police said they will have extra patrols during the show.
"[At] all the port parks there is no alcohol allowed or smoking," said Harbor Police Captain Jeff Geary. "So if you’re observed smoking, vaping, having an open alcohol container or consuming alcohol you’re likely to get a citation."
Parking near the bay will be limited and police will be strictly enforcing time restrictions for parking spots, Geary said.
The show takes to the skies at 9 p.m.
