GULF SHORES, Ala. – This Fourth of July the city of Gulf Shores will shoot celebratory fireworks off right from the public beach. In the past the city has used the Gulf State Park pier or a barge in the Gulf of Mexico.

Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Grant Brown made the request after meeting with the company who produced the shows to close out the Hangout Festival in May.

“We had the chance to speak with Pyro Shows, the same company we hired to do the show for the city and they also did the fireworks show for the Hangout Music Festival,” Brown said. “Chief (George) Surry and I spent some time with them and we talked through the specifics about the beach shot.

“We are formally requesting permission from the council to move forward for the beach shot. It’s almost directly south of the West Second Street pavilion. It’ll most likely shift some to the east or west depending on the wind location.”

Officials have been testing the shells and the wind flow to make certain crowds are kept at a safe distance.

“Chief Surry wanted to see how far the debris will actually fly,” Brown said. “Once that is specifically determined we will permit the actual size of the show they will produce for us.

“Our goal here will be to set a barricade perimeter that’s roughly 500 feet, depending on the size of the shells we use. We would use hard barricades where people could not be inside during the show and use people and security officers to protect that area.”

Councilman Joe Garris suggested the tests be conducted on a windy day to get a true reading of how far the debris will spread.

“I wouldn’t want you to do it unless there’s a pretty good wind so you can get an accurate testing of it,” Garris said. “If you don’t do it on a day there’s not much wind you’re not going to get the results of what’s traditionally blowing on the Fourth of July, which is usually about 15 miles per hour.”

To make sure crowds are kept at a safe distance, Brown said, the perimeter will be set up early in the day to allow the fireworks company to set up the show.

“The thought is that is a fairly unpopulated area although during the Fourth of July it’s going to be busy,” he said. “We will set up the perimeter up early enough with signs that say this is reserved for fireworks and not let people in there.

“It doesn’t have to be that size of a perimeter the entire day, but just the few hours before the show. Once the fireworks become live we would have to move the spectators back to this perimeter. During the day people will still be able to utilize the beach.”

Brigette Reynolds, programs and events manager, said that perimeter will change throughout the day as workers move more equipment and fireworks to the beach to set up the show.

“They won’t come to the beach until the Fourth,” Reynolds said. “They’ll park the truck at the Sportsplex, do a lot of the pre-stuff there so they are not impacting the beach. They start that morning building boxes. But when they start moving the explosives that’s when we’ll have to start cordoning off, 100 feet, then 300 feet then 500 feet.”

Brown said doing the show from the beach will save the city money and be a better show for the holiday crowd.

“The whole thing will be an easier show and better,” he said. “And being so close to the fireworks it will still be a spectacular Fourth of July event.”