Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Spectacular Fireworks Display Set to Light Up Atlanta

Aired July 04, 2001 - 10:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Star Spangled Banner and the rockets' red glare and all that -- over nearly two centuries, Americans have become accustomed to marking Independence Day with spectacular displays of patriotism and pyrotechnics.

One of the most impressive fireworks shows lights up the skies right here in Atlanta. And our national correspondent Brian Cabell is at the city's Lenox Square Mall for the 42nd annual celebration, which will be launched from there -- Brian.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, later today -- about 9:30 tonight, as a matter of fact -- for about 20 minutes, we will have the largest fireworks display here in Southeast right here at Lenox Square Mall -- 300,000 people expected to gather here, the largest crowd you're going to see in the Southeast and the largest fireworks display.

Let's take a look, as a matter of fact, right behind me right now. This is the -- actually the parking deck, the top of the parking deck -- 1,900 firing devices back there and about a little more than 2 tons of fireworks ready to be set off at about 9:30. They will last about 20 minutes.

Now, this is not the sort of thing you do with a match and a wick. It's a little more complex than that.

With us right now to explain a little bit is Josh Whiteis. He is the design manager here of this whole fireworks display.

How does it work? We have a computer here. So what do you do, actually?

JOSH WHITEIS, FIREWORKS DESIGNER: Well, what happens is, everything is done on a computer or a laptop, and then it gets -- the program gets put into this board. Once the program is into this computer, it knows when to fire what shell or what piece of product.

CABELL: Let's simulate something right here.

WHITEIS: Sure, we can do that. Let's say, for example, we want to shoot some match heads, test some things. We have a little program built in -- auto fire. Arm the system and we are ready to go.

CABELL: All right. And what we are looking at right now are match heads that are -- that would be...

WHITEIS: These are used to actually fire the shells. These are put into the lift charge that propel the shells into the air. So when the queue fires, it goes up into the air. Everything is back-timed so we know when we want it to break in the sky with the music.

CABELL: Let's go ahead and fire.

(SMALL EXPLOSIONS)

CABELL: Simple, innocuous, but that's the way it works these days.

WHITEIS: That's right. We like to keep it that way.

CABELL: That's right.

Now, earlier this morning, we had another tradition here in Atlanta. That was the Peachtree Road Race: 55,000 people pounding the pavement -- mostly joggers, some wheelchair racers, also some world- class runners. The winner was one John Korir of Kenya. His winning time: 20 minutes, 18 seconds -- but, again, a lot of people behind him.

In fact, some of them probably just finished up in the last hour or so -- 55,000 people, a good-size town, hitting the road.

I am Brian Cabell, CNN, live in Atlanta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com