SAN DIEGO (AP) — The company that produced last night's fireworks show in San Diego says it's trying to find out why the tens of thousands of fireworks that had been set up on four barges and a pier all went off at once, instead of being launched over the course of 20 minutes.
August Santore, a part-owner of the company, says a glitch or virus in the computer firing system caused all of the fireworks to go off with one command, minutes before the show had been scheduled to start.
He says the precautions that were in place helped keep anyone from being injured.
Santore says the company feels "terrible" about the mishap, which was witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people. The company produced hundreds of holiday shows across the country last night.
Online video shows multiple explosions in the shape of light bulbs flaring up from barges in the bay. They began to fizzle and sputter in a matter of seconds.
One spectator told U-T San Diego that people in the crowd figured there must have been some budget cuts.
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APPHOTO NY121: In this photo provided by Ben Baller, a yachts are illuminated in the foreground as a malfunction causes the entire Fourth of July fireworks show to go off all at once over San Diego Bay near Coronado Island in San Diego, Wednesday, July 4, 2012. The Coast Guard says the mishap occurred minutes before the scheduled opening of the Big Bay Boom show. More than 500,000 people witnessed the short-lived spectacle. No injuries were reported. (AP Photo/Ben Baller) MANDATORY CREDIT (5 Jul 2012)
<<APPHOTO NY121 (07/05/12)>>
APPHOTO CADIU101: Spectators watch from Coronado Island in San Diego as a malfunction causes the entire Fourth of July fireworks show go off all at once, Wednesday, July 4, 2012. The Coast Guard says the mishap occurred minutes before the scheduled opening of the Big Bay Boom show. More than 500,000 people witnessed the short-lived spectacle. No injuries were reported. (AP Photo/The U-T San Diego, James Gregg) MANDATORY CREDIT: Photo by James Gregg U-T San Diego; NO SALES, NO ARCHIVING, SAN DIEGO COUNTY OUT, TV OUT, MAGS OUT, FOREIGN OUT, TABLOIDS OUT, AP IMAGES OUT, COMMERCIAL INTERNET USE OUT. (4 Jul 2012)
<<APPHOTO CADIU101 (07/04/12)>>
