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KABOOM! San Diego's Entire Fireworks Show Ignites At Once

Here's what it looks like when about 18-minutes worth of professional fireworks all go up at once.

As theSan Diego Union-Tribune says, the "city's big kaboom ka-bombed on Wednesday night."

On Twitter, the Unified Port of San Diego says "we sincerely apologize for the technical glitch that affected the ‪#BigBayBoom . Event producers are currently investigating the cause." Apparently, the fireworks on at least three of four barges in the city's bay went off all at once.

Appropriately named — before the mishap — the "Big Bay Boom," the show is annually one of the biggest in the western states. Port authorities issued a statement Wednesday night saying that:

"Approximately 5 minutes before the show was to start, a signal was sent to the barges that would set the timing for the rest of the show after the introduction. There were a number of preliminary test signals sent hours and minutes leading up to the show. All these signals tested properly according to Garden State Fireworks, the fireworks company that provides the show.

"The Garden State Fireworks team will be working throughout the night to determine what technical problem caused the entire show to be launched in about 15 seconds."

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.