Plano's All American 4th fireworks show did not go off as expected Saturday night.
Around 9 p.m., about 19 minutes in the show that was being held on Lavon Farms, a 6-inch mortar exploded inside its launching tube resulting in a chain reaction of explosions from nearby mortars, according to Plano Fire-Rescue.
In videos posted to social media, fireworks appeared to also shoot off toward the crowd.
The show was stopped about six minutes prior to the grand finale.
No injuries or damage to structures were reported, but several acres of the field burned. It took firefighters about an hour to contain the blaze and extinguish the hot spots, the department said.
To adapt the Fourth of July show to better allow for social distancing, the city chose to launch the fireworks from Lavon Farms, a family farm home to a number of cows near the Plano Event Center.
The farm was on higher ground than the usual site at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, the city said.
The fireworks were also to be shot off at a higher altitude — 500 to 600 feet up instead of the usual 300 to 500 feet — so they could be seen from farther away.
In a comment on their Facebook page Saturday night, Lavon Farms said, "We are ok. Thank you all for the prayers."
The fire department said the Fire Marshal's office and the pyrotechnic company planned to remain onsite overnight to determine the safest way to remove the fireworks that did not explode.
Plano Fire-Rescue crews responded to at least three other fires around the city that were thought to have been sparked by the fireworks — two near Jupiter Road and East Spring Creak Parkway and one in the Oak Point Nature Preserve, which was extinguished after about 30 minutes.
