With less than two months to go before the July 4 holiday, the Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department has decided there is not enough time to bring fireworks back to the Poolesville area this year.
The Independence Day celebration was canceled last year when negotiations to use the site on Hughes Road known as the polo grounds fell through only weeks before the holiday. This year the Beallsville department, which has been responsible for the fireworks since 1982, asked area property owners with about 50 acres to volunteer their land for use. A March 31 deadline was given.
Chief Earl Moore said two properties were offered and vetted, but on May 4 the group decided to abandon the pursuit for this year.
"We have a place but it's not ideal and based on the fact that it's such a late date for sponsors and all ... we voted not to do it this year and for the committee to pursue it more intensively next year," Moore said.
Money was a key concern, he said, since ongoing uncertainty about the future of the celebration meant there was no money provided in the town of Poolesville's budget or through business sponsorships.
In the past the event included music and food vendors and attracted about 5,000 attendees to a 30-minute fireworks show by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale. In 2002 the department said the event cost $10,000 to $12,000 to hold, although with the help of food sales it generally broke even.
Moore, who has been at the fire department since 1959, said he knows the celebration will be missed. He said Poolesville High School and other locations have been considered, but said many sites do not have the clearance required to shoot off fireworks.
"These big open spaces are starting to close in," he said. "They're building these big houses in the woods and those open spaces aren't so open."
Moore said he plans to request funding from the town of Poolesville for an Independence Day 2005 event.
The fireworks have been on shaky ground in recent years. The event was held in 2002 but celebrations both the years before and after were forestalled by questions about the use of the 521-acre polo grounds. In February a developer submitted plans to the Montgomery County Planning Board to build multimillion dollar homes on that property.
Since Germantown fireworks were discontinued in 2001, upcounty residents in search of a show will have to go to the fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville or downtown Wheaton to see an Independence Day display in Montgomery County.
