NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The sun is setting on July and making way for August, but before the month is over lets take a look at what July brought us for tourism fun.
Yes, the Fourth of July fireworks were were short, thanks to an errant projectile that landed on a tiki hut and caught fire to the straw and thatch roof, but they certainly were pretty while they lasted.
Though the fireworks were to go for about 15-18 minutes, at about the 8-minute mark one of the projectices didn't climb as high as expected from the barge where it was shot from in the Intracoastal Waterway and landed on the roof of the tiki hut on the site of the ciry's former administrative office building, alao known as the AOB site.
It's also where the Marine Discovery was formerly located before moving to the north side of the causeway where the former New Smyrna Beach High School is located.
The fireworks were paid for by the City of New Smyrna Beach and the event was marketed by the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority as the conclusion to its inaugural New Smyrna beachweeks.
The decision to call off the fireworks at that point was made by Police Chief George Markert who was working the detail downtown with four of his officers.
The first responder to the fire was police officer Mathyas who tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher from his squad car, but the roof was fully enfgulfed. By the time New Smyrna Beach and Volusia County firetrucks arrived, the roof was completely burned, though the firefirefighters quickly put out the flames.
"I made the call to call it off," Markert said of the fireworks because of safety concerns. As to why a New Smyrna Beach fire truck wasn'yt on standy at the SAOB site where the nearby fireworks were being launched,, Markert said that wasn't his call.
New Smyrna Beach Fire Chief David McCallister did not return calls for comment from Headline Surfer on the situation at hand.
Still, tourists and locals alike enjoyed the fireworks while they lasted.
And several hundred people took to the nearby beach to light off their own fireworks witht the roar of the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop.
Market estimated there were at least 8,000 people in the city for the fireworks herte. Edgewater officials estimated close to 15,000 for the show, both culminating New Smyrna beachweeks.
Headline Surfer video by Henry Frederick / The sights and sounds of the Fourth of July on the beach in New Smyrna Beach.