Rehoboth Beach Speaks Out on July 4th Fireworks Show Debacle

Image Courtesy of City of Rehoboth Beach

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. – The City of Rehoboth Beach is speaking out after residents expressed disappointment with the beach town’s Fourth of July firework show, held on Sunday, Jul. 5.

In a statement released on Monday, Rehoboth Beach said the following:

“The City of Rehoboth Beach is aware of the issues with last night’s fireworks show and understands the disappointment many people felt. This was planned as a larger display to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday, and that’s what we promised. While some viewers saw a spectacular show, we know that wasn’t the case for everyone. We are working with Zambelli Fireworks to get clarification on what happened, including the cause of the heavy smoke and the timing of the finale. We’ll share more information with the public as soon as we have it. We appreciate your patience and again apologize for the experience.”

Now, the City is doing just that. In a longer message posted on Friday afternoon, Rehoboth officials said part of the reason for the lackluster fireworks compared to years past was due to requirements set after a site inspection is April. After the inspection, the fire marshal required the use of smaller fireworks due to the reduced fallout zone caused by beach erosion. The product Zambelli used this year to meet those guidelines are known as multi-shot devices, or “cakes.” Rehoboth Beach says cakes typically break around 150 feet, compared to traditional shells that reach 450 feet or more, causing fireworks to not appear as high in the sky as expected.

Further, due to the lower elevation, the concentrated number of smaller shots, and high humidity contributed to creating an unusually heavy smoke plume. Rehoboth Beach says the potential impacts of the changes were not communicated to them beforehand, and preventing the City from planning accordingly.

Additionally, technical difficulties during the show’s grand finale caused some devices not to fire as scheduled. The crew manually lit them after the show had technically ended, as many close by witnessed, which created time gaps and made the finale seem weak.

“For more than 20 years, Zambelli Fireworks has delivered safe, dependable, and stunning shows for our community, a track record we sincerely value,” the City said on Friday. “We will be working closely with Zambelli in the coming weeks to determine next steps and possible changes moving forward.”

Rehoboth Beach previously held firework displays on a barge, with the last barge show happening in 2005. The display was moved to the beach in 2006 following the beach replenishment project, where it has been held ever since. However, due to recent beach erosion, the City says continuing to hold the display on the beach may be increasingly difficult, and the barge option will be explored for next year.