Looking for the best Fourth of July fireworks? Here’s what wowed The Bee’s summer interns
The Bee’s annual intern firework review is back!
After a brief hiatus, this year’s cohort of summer reporting interns revamped the series, bonding over the sights and sounds of a collection of “Safe and Sane” pyrotechnics during a visit to the Sacramento Fire Department’s Station 4.
Using highly scientific ranking methods, interns reviewed 26 fireworks, ranging from silent showers of glittery sparks to flashy and loud finale sequences. The fireworks came from distributors Phantom Fireworks, Discount Fireworks Superstore and TNT Fireworks, the three national firms permitted to sell fireworks in Sacramento County. The fireworks we tested went on sale Friday morning.
Under the supervision of firefighters and the company’s local experts, we sat in awe 25 feet from the pops, crackles and booms. The college graduates and journalism majors were dazzled for two hours by the colorful sparkles, sharing our thoughts over notebooks, cameras and a few boxes of pizza and cheesy bread.
We would be remiss if we did not emphasize the importance of these “Safe and Sane” firework and their appropriate usage in Sacramento County, especially during a challenging early wildfire season.
How to have a safe Fourth of July
All fireworks sold in California are required to have a “Safe and Sane” seal from the state fire marshal, indicating they were determined to be safe for use by the general public. Fireworks that don’t have this seal are considered “dangerous” — those include Roman candles, bottle rockets and firecrackers not sold at display stands around town.
Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the city’s Fire Department, emphasized the importance of using fireworks on a flat, paved surface, clear of grass, with at least 25 feet of clearance.
“Make sure you’re dumping them in water, and it’s a good idea to even let them sit overnight in that water,” Sylvia said. “We do have situations where people toss the fireworks in their garbage can and, an hour or two later, that garbage can catches on fire.”
He also advised against letting young children light the fireworks — the pyrotechnics are still dangerous and should only be handled by an adult.
According to Aaron Crawford, the area manager for TNT Fireworks, educational material is handed out with every fireworks sale.
This year, there’s a card with a QR code that links to TNT’s websites and provides customers with different ways to celebrate safely.
Crawford emphasized that spectators should be at least 25 feet from the fireworks once they are lighted and to only light one at a time.
Another tip that TNT emphasizing this year due to the abundant amounts of dry grass across the capital region is to “have a bucket where you can douse your fireworks after it’s done to make sure it’s out cold, and then also have a hose ready with a nozzle on it,” Crawford said.
Where can you get legal fireworks in Sacramento?
Firework sales are legal in Sacramento County for the six days leading up to Independence Day. Sales begin at noon Friday and will end at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 4. During this time, TNT and Phantom will have fireworks stands open across the region in cities and counties that allow sales.
You can find a full list of Phantom locations at fireworks.com, and TNT’s location listings are at tntfireworks.com.
County regulations mandate that fireworks may only be set off from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through the holiday.
Now let’s get on to the reviews.
The best fireworks in Sacramento
We compiled a list of our 10 favorite fireworks, as well as three honorable mentions, each with their own distinctive style. Each firework is ranked from 1 to 5 on the “Ooh” and “Boom” scales — how pretty they are and how enjoyable their sound is. We also include the prices, a description of each firework and any deals the manufacturers have on the fireworks.
The reporters and visual journalists on hand had a diverse set of opinions on the fireworks they enjoyed most; some preferred quieter and simpler fountains while others loved the high-flying, booming fireworks.
There was no runaway favorite this year — for the record, we were unable to try the former intern firework champion, “Opening Show” — but for the first time, there was a four-way tie for second place!
With so many fireworks to rate, there were plenty of others we enjoyed, even if they didn’t dazzle us as much, so the following honorable mentions feature other fireworks recommendations outside of the “Ooh” and “Boom” scales.
Honorable mentions
“Silent Insanity” *NEW for 2024*
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $49.99
Length of show: 1 minute, 14 seconds
“Ooh” rating: 3.47
“Boom” rating: 2.13
What TNT said: Blue and white multi stage effect, cascades and willow effect, and fluttering quiet finish.
What we said: “More new effects like little stars and sparklers, best for how quiet it is if you want a quiet one, pretty gold coloring, little jumping sparkles.”
“Fiery Frogs”
Manufacturer: Phantom
Price: $29.99
Length of show: 0:33
“Ooh” rating: 3.94
“Boom” rating: 3.70
What Phantom said: Multi-effect novelty with crackling bright eyes, glowing mouth. Gold/silver showers with crackle and red and blue stars.
What we said: “If I could give the packaging a rating, it would be a 6/5 — was a contender before it was even lit off.”
“Taco Tuesday”
Manufacturer: Discount Fireworks Superstore
Price: $32.68
Length of show: 0:58
“Ooh” rating: 3.44
“Boom” rating: 3.06
What they said: Time to go loco!! It’s taco time with colored flames, colored sparks and crackles.
What we said: “Multi Colored flames. Sparks flew far and fast.” “Taco Tuesday for a fireworks Monday.”
Seventh place
“Brain Buster”
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $79.99
Length of show: 1:34
“Ooh” rating: 3.88
“Boom” rating: 3.84
What TNT said: Dancing fish, silvery crackles, silvery shower, titanium flowers, shoots from all four side panels.
What we said: “Very bright, different colors, long but constantly engaging, surprises at the end again.”
Sixth place
“Martian Man” *NEW for 2024*
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $39.99
Length of show: 1:14
“Ooh” rating: 4.13
“Boom” rating: 3.67
What TNT said: Mind blowing, multi color, multi shower effect, with titanium crackles. Multi directional shower finish.
What we said: “The ending was out of the world in my opinion.”
Fifth place
“Bomb Pop”
Manufacturer: Freedom Fireworks
Price: $20.13
Length of show: 1:40
“Ooh” rating: 3.94
“Boom” rating: 3.88
What Freedom said: Vibrant colors and crazy effects.
What we said: “Has a little bit of everything, the charcuterie board of fireworks.”
Fourth place
“Wild Side”
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $29.99
Length of show: 0:58
“Ooh” rating: 4.13
“Boom” rating: 4.5
What TNT said: Red, green, yellow, blue & purple sparks with silvery crackling chrysanthemum bursts.
What we said: “Widespread sparks, sounded like really heavy hail.”
Third place
“World Champ” *NEW for 2024*
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $59.99
Length of show: 1:41
“Ooh” rating: 4.88
“Boom” rating: 4.13
What TNT said: Power packed, multi tubed, multi colored, with loud crackles and multi shower and rain finale.
What we said: “Love the start, great streams of white sparkles. Lots happening and lasts a long time. Good value. Perfect finale firework.”
Second place (all four of them)
“La Calaca”
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $44.99
Length of show: 1:17
“Ooh” rating: 4.44
“Boom” rating: 4.48
What TNT said: Celebrate those who have gone before us with this multi-color, sparkling fountain. Beautiful array of colors.
What we said: “Had a light, which was a sick feature, and you watch the light until it goes out so you don’t burn yourself (safety matters!)”
“Peacock Tail Fan”
Manufacturer: Phantom
Price: $54.99
Length of show: 0:57
“Ooh” rating: 4.81
“Boom” rating: 4.5
What Phantom said: This fun fountain lights up with silver flowers, red, green and blue stars, finishing with a titanium crackle.
What we said: “Cool shape and colors, nice tempo switch. Kept you in the edge of your toes. Very aggressive finale.”
“Radioactive Spark”
Manufacturer: Phantom
Price: $89.99
Length of show: 0:44
“Ooh” rating: 5.19 (some interns rated fireworks a six out of five...)
“Boom” rating: 4.13
What Phantom said: Large display fountain with green stars, yellow flowers, gold showers, red and green chrysanthemums, red stars, and a spinning finale.
What we said: “It spins!!!!!”
“Retro”
Manufacturer: Discount Fireworks Superstore
Price: $32.84
Length of show: 1:07
“Ooh” rating: 4.69
“Boom” rating: 4.63
What they said: Stare in amazement as red, green, yellow, blue, purple and silver effects are emitted by this fountain. The sound, color and size of the effects create a truly enjoyable experience for one’s senses.
What we said: “I had to scoot back a bit too — a little nervy the sparks were going to reach me!”
First place
“Living the Dream”
Manufacturer: TNT
Price: $49.99
Length of show: 2:03
“Ooh” rating: 4.5
“Boom” rating: 5
What TNT said: 500 GRAM FINALE! Awesome — a multitude of colorful sparks with silver crackling will leave you ... living the dream!
What we said: “Extremely loud and big the whole time. If boom is your thing, this one’s it. Long too. Probably lost some hearing with how loud this one was.”
Special thanks to Sacramento Fire Department’s Capt. Justin Sylvia and the crew of Station 4, as well as Nina Gunter from Phantom Fireworks, and Dennis Revell, John Castilone and Aaron Crawford from TNT Fireworks.
The Bee’s Elise Fisher, Jessica Ma, Irene Milanez, Hannah Poukish, Bailey Stover, Esther Sun and Megan Vaz contributed to this story.
