Magnolia fireworks canceled due to technician shortage

The annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Unity Park in Magnolia has been canceled because the technician the city hired through Bay Fireworks—a fireworks production company—became unavailable.

"Texas requires special licensed technicians to set off a fireworks show like the one we were planning," said Paul Mendes, city administrator. "[Bay Fireworks] notified us last week that we could do July 3 or July 5, but the fourth was booked."

Bay Fireworks, which is based in New York, produces firework shows for clients across the country through partnerships with licensed technicians. The increase in demand for area technicians this year is likely tied to last year's drought, said Dennis Brady Jr., CEO of Bay Fireworks. Many Texas firework shows, including Magnolia's, were cancelled in 2011 because the abundance of dead trees created a fire hazard. This year, more organizations are looking for technicians to put on shows.

"After the technician informed us that they were unavailable, we immediately tried to find a replacement," Brady said. "When we couldn't do that, we notified the city to see if we could find another date."

The city, which had been signed up for the show for more than a year, decided doing a Fourth of July fireworks show on another date would not be worth it and opted for a refund.

"We have been in contact with [Bay] numerous times trying to see if there was some way we could pull this off," Mendes said. "We eventually went to other companies, but at this point everyone is booked."

Mendes said the city may plan a special New Year's Eve fireworks show at Unity Park to make up for canceling the summer event.

"It's disappointing, but we just have to step back to see what we can do to have a good event," he said. "It's better to have a good event later than to have one now that we know won't turn out right."