4th of July heads up!

I just got back from a fairly traumatic experience. While some are worried about terrorism on this 4th of July, those attending the fireworks display in the town of Vienna need have worried more about errant, if colorful, explosives. My dad and I parked our little camping seats about as close to the fireworks as you could get; literally just yards from the yellow police tape that kept the viewers at a "safe" distance.

As the show began, Dad remarked that they would probably tell us to move back farther as debris from the exploding rockets rained down from above, some still on fire. These proved ominous words indeed. During the finale, several of the fireworks shot off into the crowd about 50 yards to our left and 30 yards to our right. At this point we knew something was wrong but we too shocked to move. Looking back I probably would have ducked for cover.

After the last of the finale, there did not seem to be any panic, even near the sites of the explosions. As my Dad and I walked by the closer of the two explosion sites, on our way home, a few men, including police were clearing people away from the site. We stuck around for a bit as ambulances, fire trucks, police vehicles, and a helicopter swarmed the area.

Again, there was no panic and it did not appear that there were widespread injuries. Hope everyone is okay!

Addendum: According to ABC 7 news, 9 people where hospitalized in the event, two apparently quite seriously.

Addendum II: Video of the explosive finale here.