West Knox Volunteer Fire Department hosting Fourth of July fireworks display Saturday

Even though several groups have canceled Fourth of July fireworks celebrations this year, including the cities of Corbin, Williamsburg and Jellico, Corbin-area residents still won’t have to go far to see fireworks on July 4.

West Knox Volunteer Fire Department is once again hosting its annual fireworks display Saturday evening at dusk. The fireworks will be shot off from on top of the old Lynn Camp High School hill.

The fireworks show is expected to be visible from multiple locations in the area, including the Trademart Shopping Center, the parking lot of West Knox Pharmacy, Legacy Auto Sales, the old Kmart, and from several places along the four-lane and the Corbin bypass.

There is no admission charge for the event, which usually draws about 2,000 people, but is expected to have a bigger crowd this year.

“We estimate there are going to be more this year just because of the fact there aren’t going to be that many places to go this year,” said West Knox Fire Chief Darryl Baker. “We are dealing with the guy, who sells us the fireworks and he is giving us a better deal this year so we can have more of the bigger ones to shoot.”

He noted that the fireworks, which will be shot off, aren’t the big ones you would expect to see at a larger firework shows, but are instead more like the ones you would set off at home. One big difference between this and your fireworks show at home is this fireworks display will feature a lot of fireworks in the air at one time for an extended period of time.

“We set up six stations to shoot them from. When we say go, everybody starts shooting, and we shoot them as fast as we can shoot them. It is like a grand finale for 20 or 30 minutes,” Baker said.

He said that last year the fire department shot off about 5,000 shells with a fireworks display that lasted about 20-30 minutes, and this year’s show is expected to be similar.

Baker said that he doesn’t consider this show to be breaking the COVID-19 social distancing rules because people tend to come as families in their vehicles and everybody isn’t gathered in one location to watch the display.

“They kind of stay to themselves. We don’t think it is going to be breaking any of the suggestions for staying away from each other because you come with your family in the car and you are going to get out of your car and stand next to your family and watch them,” Baker said.

“It is just a big outside event. They are doing a lot of outside events now. As long as people stay away from people they are not normally around, we don’t think that is going to be a problem.”

Baker said that in past years New Hope Church, which owns the lot where the school used to be, has joined in with the fire department and distributed free water and popcorn to those in attendance during the festivities, but this year the church has opted not to do that.

Also, in past years, the fire department has cooked big dinners that were sold to spectators, but this also won’t be happening this year.

“We are just going to shoot the fireworks,” he said.

In the event of rain, local residents are urged to check the West Knox Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page to find out the status of the event.

Baker noted that in year’s past, if a fireworks show got rained out, then it was usually moved to the following weekend.