Kailua fireworks barge sinks, scatters debris
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
KAILUA — Employees of Hawai'i Explosives and Pyrotechnics Inc. thought they had done everything right after successfully shooting off fireworks from a barge in Kailua Bay before a delighted crowd.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
They even received a standing ovation.
Paressa Wong, above left, and her son, Joshua, drag equipment used in launching the July Fourth fireworks to higher ground on Kailua Beach.
So it was a little disconcerting yesterday when the work crew showed up at 6 a.m. to find that the barge apparently had struck a coral reef during low tide and partially sank. Launching tubes, wood and other debris from the barge littered popular, pristine Kailua Beach
After 25 years of successful displays at Kailua Beach Park, this year's problem was the second in a row for the popular fireworks spectacular sponsored by the Kailua Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the chamber received a black eye when the display was criticized after damage to a bird habitat on Flat Island.
This year, the chamber tried to do the right thing and shoot the fireworks from a barge instead.
"Oh, brother," Larry Lanning, president of the Kailua chamber, said yesterday upon hearing of the latest trouble. But in the next breath, he expressed confidence that Hawai'i Explosives would make things right.
And they did.
Early yesterday, one woman reported seeing up to 50 giant tubes and pieces of lumber on the beach. But by 10 a.m. the only debris on the beach was left by residents from the night before. A pile of spent fireworks lay on the beach near a lifeguard stand. Bits and pieces lay in the sand, but beachgoers said they noticed nothing except a pickup truck filled with trash coming off the beach.
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Hawai'i Explosives owner Donald Pascual said the receding tide created slack in the anchor lines and allowed the barge to drift over a coral head, which punctured the pontoon hull and allowed water in, causing the barge to list to one side.
Everything must have slid into the ocean, where the tide and wind brought them to shore, he said.
Pascual, a 20-year veteran of the business, said he has three barges, uses them frequently and will be using them again. He likes them for safety and security reasons.
Of the 14 shows put on by Hawaii Explosives and Pyrotechnics Inc. this Fourth of July, the barge sinking was the only glitch the company experienced, he said.
State and city officials said they received calls from residents telling them about the accident.
Deborah Ward, with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the barge was left overnight for safety reasons.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
"We're not aware of any pollution or impact on the natural resources" from the accident, Ward said, adding that the state permit for the display requires that the pyrotechnic devices be biodegradable.
The launch barge partly sank overnight, and fireworks equipment floated onto the beach.
Lanning said the incident won't affect future displays. In fact, people thought the event was the best fireworks display ever, he said.
"They got a standing ovation," Lanning said. "For icing on the cake they did a hana hou (an encore)." He said if someone calls out hana hou, he brought a few extra shells to fire off."
