Thunder on the mountain, fire in the sky

It takes three days of setup, a team of eight people and 5,000 pounds of gunpowder to pull off Birmingham’s biggest fireworks show of the year, and this July 4 promises to be no different.

Thunder on the Mountain has been officially hosted by Vulcan Park and Museum since 2004, but the tradition of setting off fireworks from Red Mountain for the entire Birmingham metro area to see dates back decades.

For 20 minutes each Independence Day evening, weather permitting, Vulcan is not only the god of the forge, but of fire in the sky.

“It’s the most fantastic show in central Alabama, and maybe the state,” said Morgan Black, Vulcan Park’s director of marketing and public relations.

From anywhere in the area you can see Vulcan — whether from rooftops downtown,  on top of Shades Mountain in Homewood and Vestavia or anywhere in between — you can seethe show.

Black said with those who can see it in person and those who watch the live stream on WBRC Fox 6, the show usually has around 1 million viewers.

The show is set and choreographed to music, which is broadcast by eight radio stations in the area so viewers can follow along from wherever they are.

Pyro Shows of Alabama has been at the helm of the Thunder on the Mountain show since last year, but the company it purchased and absorbed, Pyro Productions, has run the show for most of its history.

General Manager Danny Turner said employees from Pyro Shows would often be in the area running other firework events on July 4, and they would return to corporate headquarters in Tennessee raving about Thunder on the Mountain. And while they didn’t ever think it would take buying Pyro Productions to get the show, Turner said he is glad they get to provide the service for Vulcan.

“The relationship has just been great,”he said.

Turner said it would not be an exaggeration to say they began planning July 5, 2016 to prepare for this year’s show.

“It is truly a yearlong effort, especially for something this big,” he said.

In December, Turner and Black said the real work for the year’s Independence Day show begins, and the team comes together to hash out what the show should look like, what music to use and other details.

From there, Turner said, it’s all about creating the client’s vision.

“There is a lot of science and chemistry behind it,” he said, “but once we get the show designed, then it becomes the art side of things. And you do kind of have to have an artistic mind about you; you have to have a spatial recognition.”

And being able to deliver effects that please not only clients, but also the multitudes of viewers is what Turner said he loves aboutthe job.

“Hearing the crowd at the end of a good show, and hearing them screaming and cheering — that’s it,” he said. “That is one of the highest highs anybody could ever get, because they’re appreciating, they’re enjoying what you have built.”

And even with an 800-foot security perimeter, he said that he was still able to hear the cheering after last year’s show.

Black said she anticipates the show to once again go off “like clockwork,” and Turner said there will be a few surprises for folks to look forward to.

Visitors can watch some of the setup on July 4, but the park will close at 6 p.m. to allow the security perimeter to be set up.

The show will begin at 9 p.m. For viewing tips and a list of participating radio stations that will carry the music broadcast, visit visitvulcan.com/july-4th-fireworks.