San Diego's Big Bay Boom will be more environmentally friendly this year, but will it be less spectacular?

When San Diego’s bayfront fireworks show launches Saturday evening, hundreds of thousands of spectators will be prepared to ooh and aah over the explosive bursts lighting up the night sky. But they may also notice something much different from in years past.

Thanks to new environmental protections imposed by the California Coastal Commission last year, there will likely be less brilliant reds, blues, greens and other colors due to the absence of a commonly used chemical agent that is now banned from the Big Bay Boom.

While everyone may not notice a difference in this year’s tribute to the nation’s 250th anniversary, the show’s pyrotechnics producer fears many will. What’s missing, says Sam Bruggema, San Diego show producer with Pyro Spectaculars, is perchlorate, a long-used oxidizer that he explains helps deliver the vivid hues we’re accustomed to seeing.

“You don’t get the same colors, nothing’s brilliant,” says Bruggema, whose company took over the pyrotechnics production more than a decade ago, following the notorious show in 2012 when all the fireworks detonated in just seconds. “Some colors you can’t even get by not using perchlorate, so it basically mutes what’s available in the spectrum of colors.”

Pyro Spectaculars is involved in some of the biggest fireworks shows this Fourth of July, including the Macy’s show in New York and San Francisco’s display launched directly from the Golden Gate Bridge. Both of those will use perchlorate, he said.

Early last year, the Coastal Commission required that the Port of San Diego get a formal permit for the annual Big Bay Boom that included a number of conditions, including banning the use of perchlorate and adding more heightened monitoring to assess impacts on marine wildlife, birds and water quality. In addition, the port is required to undertake a study exploring the possibility of replacing fireworks with an aerial light show or using drones to complement a scaled-down fireworks event, beginning with the Fourth of July celebration in 2027.

There wasn’t enough time last year to make the Big Bay Boom entirely perchlorate-free because of the challenge of sourcing manufacturers who produce more eco-friendly shells, Bruggema said. This year, Pyro Spectaculars found two manufacturers, one domestic and one in Spain, but the cost was nearly three times that of comparable shells using perchlorate, Bruggema said.

Port officials estimate that this year’s total cost of the July 4 event will be just under $1 million. That compares to $813,000 last year, said spokesperson Gabriella Rodriguez . She noted that the port and its nonprofit fundraising partner, San Diego Fleet Week Foundation, are working to cover roughly half or more of the expenses through fundraising and grants, with the port making up the difference.

While the focus of this year’s Big Bay Boom - starting at 9:15 p.m. - will be on the 250th anniversary of the U.S., the theming will be more noticeable in the audio simulcast than in the visuals, Bruggema said. He pointed out that it’s difficult to display numbers, even with perchlorate fireworks. He added that there will be no shapes, like hearts or smiley faces this year, as there have been in the past.

The radio simulcast, on 91X FM, will highlight the nation’s accomplishments over the decades, dating back to 1776. In between musical selections, there will be some voice-overs from notable figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and former President Ronald Reagan, Bruggema said.

“The last song, for the finale, will be a mix of the Star Spangled Banner with many of the celebrities who have performed it, from Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey, and all the more well-known singers of the last 25 or so years,” he added.

The Big Bay Boom’s longtime executive producer, Sandy Purdon, is not so sure he and others viewing the fireworks will notice much of a difference in the pyrotechnics compared to previous years. He’s hoping not.

“I’m not a pyro engineer, but I’m kind of interested in seeing what the look is without perchlorate because I don’t really know,” he said. “I haven’t had the advantage of seeing one against the other. The water quality chemists that have been doing water quality tests on our show for many years have said that the perchlorate that they test for apparently dissipates and is eliminated in salt water within 30 seconds or a minute once it hits the water. So, I’m a little confused about what all the negativity is about.”

Almost immediately after the show, as has been the case in the past, he said, the owners of recreational boats will traverse the waters around the four barges where the fireworks are launched to locate any debris that has landed in the water.

But the Coastal Commission’s monitoring program is even more rigorous, requiring, for example, the use of qualified biologists to measure the impact, if any, on the environment and wildlife. As for the potential transition away from fireworks, the port’s study is expected to be completed by late summer or fall, according to the port.

“People are still going to see a spectacular show,” Bruggema said. “Fireworks aficionados will notice some stuff, but this is about celebrating our independence and 250 years of our accomplishments. So I believe everybody will take that into account, that’s why we’re doing this, and the music is going to make everybody feel good.”

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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 6:02 PM.