The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
Visitors enjoy the warm day at Keyhole Reservoir.
Fireworks over the lake.
Pyrotechnicians Dusty McKlintock, Justin Solaas, Steven Hurd, Mike Judt, Amanda Judt, Ben Rose and Fred Neugebauer.
Fireworks over the lake.
Sundance volunteer fireman Tom Engelhaupt, after some instruction from Neugebauer, lit the fuse for a test shot.
Fred Neugebauer and his crew of pyro-technicians set up and safely discharged over 1000 fireworks from the Bearclaw Peninsula Saturday night for the Pine Haven Volunteer Fire Department's annual fundraiser.
Clouds began to gather and the wind picked up over the Keyhole Reservoir as the evening progressed and the team covered the shells with heavy plastic, but the rain held off and the show started on time to a full theater as people came into Coulter Bay early, setting their camp chairs and coolers in position to enjoy the show.
Later, Fire Chief Bob Rudichar said of Neugebauer, who has been in charge of this event for the last several years and was part of the team under his predecessor for many years before he took the reins. "He does an incredible job for us and is a delightful person to work with. He is safety-oriented, focused on the final outcome and wants everybody to have an enjoyable experience."
Test shots were periodically launched into the sky to ensure proper operation and positioning, one of which was ignited by Tom Engelhaupt of Sundance Fire Department (pictured).
The crew used a different launch pattern this time, according to technician Justin Solaas. In previous years, the team laid out the racks that hold the fireworks in position to be fired in a zigzag pattern, "putting a post at every zig, which means we have to drive the (T) posts in and then get them back out." This year, though, the set up changed to a more stable system that will take less time to assemble and tear down; this is the method is also used for the Gillette fireworks.
The event usually takes only about half an hour as the fuses are dry and the pyrotechnics are set in motion almost instantaneously, according to Nuegebauer, but, due to the much higher humidity this summer, the fuses took as long as 40 seconds to launch the projectiles so the show lasted about 45 minutes.
Keyhole State Park superintendent Terry Lee estimated around 500 vehicles came into the park for the event and reported "a relatively quiet time."
Fourteen boots had been placed during the preceding months, but the amount received has not been counted at this time. The cost of the fireworks was $8000.
