The show must go on. Even though it may be raining and the river is rising, the fireworks are a go, Thunder Over Louisville officials said Thursday.
The Second Street Bridge is already closed. Fireworks were loaded onto the bridge Thursday. The barges are prepping to be bolted into the river's floor, able to withstand any current.
“Even if we have to delay the start Saturday at 9:30, it's going to be in half an hour increments, but at some point, those fireworks are coming off the barges and off that bridge,” Thunder Over Louisville producer Wayne Hettinger said. “We're changing and altering as we go, so we're bound and determined to do the show that we've always done.”
The river is causing some headaches for the show's production. At least a third of the Great Lawn, a popular viewing site, is underwater.
Already, the sky divers have canceled and some sound systems and vendors are being forced to move so they don't end up underwater.
Many vendors and organizations have had to change where they were going to be set up, WLKY included. The Thunder Over Louisville broadcast headquarters was going to be along River Road, under the Galt House, but flooding pushed operations to higher grounds.
All systems are a go in the air as well.
Thunder Air boss Mike Riordan said his team of top guns will be monitoring and managing the show’s air traffic
“We'll have about 105 aircraft that come through here in the course of the day,” Riordan said. “It's going to be an outstanding air show.”
Riordan says the pilots in Saturday's show are highly trained, military pilots, who can safely fly in almost any conditions.
“They have what we call a high show, low show and a flat show. Each one of those is based on whatever altitude or clouds they may have. So, even if they have clouds, we can still put on a tremendous show. Even if it gets low, they can put on a good show. It will take a lot to shut it down,” Riordan said.