For decades, New Mexico Tech has been lighting up the sky in the small town of Socorro with its annual Fourth of July fireworks display. This tradition, which involves a full day filled with live music, food vendors, and activities for kids, brings together families from all over town as well as the university community. The event culminates with the highly regarded fireworks show put on by EMRTC. Such a show involves multiple logistics, numerous hours, and of course, plenty of dazzling fireworks.
The planning begins months in advance with an FAA application. EMRTC staff aim to create a unique display each year, and they never disappoint! Last year, 44 employees worked on the show in some capacity, with a total of over 900 hours devoted towards either planning, setup, or cleaning. An additional crew of volunteers help set up the day of the show. Setup, which begins at first light around 5:30am, takes most of the day, concluding in the afternoon.
Rain or shine, setup still happens
Mike Stanley and Kyle Haley with fireset
Donovan Caruso and Jonathan Myrkle loading fireworks script
Photos from last year’s setup and display help provide a better sense of the scale of the show and the efforts involved. Total firework barrels shot was 750. Additionally, 45 cakes were set off (cake shells vary from 5 to 200, averaging 50 per cake, meaning up to 200 fireworks can come from each cake). The end result is an impressive visual performance that lasts nearly a half hour.
Kelly McLain and Meliton Flores firing the show from behind EMRTC’s protective barrier
Post-display tasks such as initial cleanup can take several hours more of work that evening, with complete cleanup concluding a few business days later.
This year’s display will take place near the Socorro Sports and Rodeo Complex, where there will be live entertainment from a variety of musical groups and acts beginning at 11am. Meliton Flores, EMRTC’s Associate Director of Applied Research, noted the many entities behind the scenes, including New Mexico Tech, the City of Socorro and the City planning committee, Socorro County, and City of Socorro first responders. Special thanks to many EMRTC personnel including EMRTC Ordnance, Engineering, Test Range Operators, Safety, Student Engineers, and Finance groups for all their support. Flores emphasized “this team truly has what it takes to put on a great show.” This year, with supply chain issues and delays from multiple fireworks vendors, says Flores, “has been one of our most difficult years to host a show.” Despite these challenges, EMRTC is still prepared to uphold tradition and once again deliver to the Socorro community a first-class event.
