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Best of the Fireworks
It was a show unlike any we've ever seen in Utah. The fireworks ringed the city, so there were many ringside seats. One of the best views was at the mouth of Emigration Canyon.
There were 9,553 shells ringing the city in a tapestry of fire, including the biggest shells allowed in America.
It took months of planning, a dozen locations, experts from three fireworks companies, feeling privileged to light up the sky on Utah's very special night.
Al Burns, Jr. of Fireworks West, International describes it as, "Really a sense of pride, and also a sense of awe and wonder."
"It's been a very successful games. Why not go out with a big bang?" asks SLOC's Larry Ganson.
The stars of the show exploded 2,000 feet above This Is The Place Monument. Giant shells with bursts a full quarter-mile across.
This is what they looked like before they blew up, shells so big it took a small crane to lift them, and experts from Japan to guide them into enormous mortar tubes. Under each one, a ten-pound bag of black powder.
Jim Souza of Pyro Spectaculars by Souza says, "This is a 24 inch shell. It's one of the largest ever built, and to be fired in the world."
These big babies are so rarely used that veteran fireworks experts posed for pictures like proud Moms & Dads. And they signed their names, even one of the most famous names in fireworks, Grucci, still finding fun in the family business.
Phil Grucci says, "I'm out here right now on top of this mountain, loading these. How much more fun could I ask for?"
We'll almost certainly never see another night like this. Enjoy it, Utah, as the Olympics take a flashy bow, and leave our stage forever.
