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(Update) July 4th Fireworks in Columbia Will Go On As Planned

There is a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms Wednesday, amid thousands still without power in Howard County.

 

Updated July 4th at 1:54 p.m.

Howard County officials announced Wednesday that fireworks at the Lakefront will go on as planned.

Original story

With thousands of Howard County residents still without power, Howard County officials said via their email notification system that they would inform residents if the planned July 4th fireworks display at the Columbia Lakefront is postponed.

Howard County officials announced Tuesday afternoon via the county’s email notification list: “In response to numerous inquiries, if a decision is made to postpone July 4 fireworks, we will alert residents first through the NotifyMeHoward notification system.”

Information on how to sign up for the Howard County government notification list can be found here.

Do you think the Columbia fireworks display should be postponed? Tell us in comments.  

Montgomery County cancelled its popular 4th of July fireworks displays and festivities.

“I made this very difficult decision based on the ongoing need to apply county police, fire and rescue, transportation, and other county resources to help our residents who continue to be severely impacted by this recent storm,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 9,000 Howard County residents remain without power, on Day 4 of outages since Friday’s damaging storm.

Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 93 degrees on July 4, according to the National Weather Service. There is also a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Kevin Enright, director of the office of public information, said County Executive Ken Ulman would not be attending parades he was scheduled to attend on the 4th, but that Ulman is expected to attend the fireworks.

Enright said Ulman did not want to attend the parades because, "He just doesn’t feel comfortable participating in these celebrations in the middle of a heat wave when we still have thousands of residents without power."

See related coverage:

Montgomery County Cancels 4th of July Fireworks

Updated: Up to 50,000 Expected to Attend Columbia Fireworks

Three July 4th Parades in Columbia

With reporting from Andrew Metcalf, Tamika Smith and Ryan McDermott

  • Do you think the Columbia fireworks should be postponed?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • Yes. Too many people are without power, and there may be thunderstorms.
        31 (39%)
    • No. We need this celebration now.
        45 (56%)
    • Unsure/Other
        3 (3%)
    Total votes: 79
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Howard County Derecho Coverage, July 4th, and derecho

H.R. Pufnstuf

4:57 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Yeah, Ken can't make it because he might miss his workout.

Huge shout out to the employees of BGE and other for profit companies who have spent time away from their families (including on July 4th) trying to restore our power and making sure we have critical supplies available on store shelves. Those folks are worthy of our respect- they are the doers who truly make the world go round and our lives better.

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