Hey, Butte, do you like big explosions? Well, here’s a 12-inch, nearly 25-pound shell, which is the biggest shell at any fireworks show, and this one’s going to be blasted off on Butte’s 3rd of July fireworks display.
Watch our video to see how the crew prepares for the largest fireworks show in Montana:
“They’ll go off around 1,500 feet in the sky and explode around 600 feet wide. You should hear it all around in Butte,” said Raven Ross Anderson of Big Sky Fireworks.
A crew of seven spent Tuesday under the hot sun carefully loading hundreds of fireworks shells into tubes on the loft at Big Butte.
“It’s not a very fast process, because we’d rather have it done right than risk anything,” said setup crew member Chris Keck.
The crew looks forward to working on the Town Pump-sponsored Butte display, which is the largest in the state.
“They’re really experienced people, they love doing it. We’re a whole bunch of friends, so it’s like friends getting together and playing with explosives, you know,” said Anderson.
The crew did their best not to get overheated.
“We use canopies for shade, stay hydrated, lots of sunscreen. We should probably own stock in Copper Tone,” said crew member Slater Henkel.
For Keck, working on this show has sentimental value.
“My grandma Rice lived here in Butte for many years. She grew up here and we used to watch the show from her backyard, which is right down the hill over here,” he said.
