Fireworks ready to light up DC this 4th of July

WASHINGTON, DC ( DC News Now ) — Everything’s in place for the fireworks at the National Mall this Fourth of July.

“This is the control panel,” said Chris Santore, the production manager of New Jersey-based Garden State Fireworks.

Santore will oversee the annual DC Fireworks Show , as his company has since 2013. This year’s program will last for about 17:30 minutes.

“You get butterflies, inevitably. there’s excitement, there’s nerves, and you just stay focused and really just get prepared for that, that moment,” said Santore.

The fireworks will launch from both sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and will be coordinated with music piped in from the memorial and the Washington Monument.

“Kind of like to keep it a little bit of a surprise, but you definitely expect Stars and Stripes to carry us home for the grand finale,” said Santore.

The National Park Service, NPS, expects several hundred thousand people to fill the mall for what is described by NPS as the largest single-day event of the year.

Those who plan to be at the National Mall Thursday night, bring water, and pack patience.

“So if you’re going to watch, in that area that includes the Washington Monument grounds that includes the plaza in front of the Lincoln Memorial. you will have to go through a screening area on your way in for that,” said NPS Spokesman Mike Litterst.

One place people will not be able to watch the fireworks is the Lincoln Memorial. It will be closed due to renovations. People can, however, sit on the steps at the edge of the reflecting pool.

“I’d be a little disappointed. It looks like to be an iconic spot to do it,” said Avery Brown of Houston, Texas. “Yeah, disappointed.”

The fireworks are scheduled to begin Thursday at 9:09 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.