File photo of the fireworks in Alpena on July 4.

ALPENA – As the smoke from Alpena’s Fourth of July fireworks display cleared over Thunder Bay, city crews were already preparing for the less glamorous but essential work that follows one of the community’s biggest annual celebrations. While residents enjoyed the spectacle, public works teams and emergency personnel coordinated extensive preparations and swift cleanup, highlighting the collaborative effort required to stage a safe and memorable event.

City Engineer Steve Shultz said the cleanup this year was noticeably lighter than in years past, thanks in part to a change in the fireworks launch location.

“The cleanup isn’t like it used to be,” Shultz said. “Everyone used to congregate around Starlight Beach, and the cleanup was pretty heavy. I have been told the last two years, with the new location for launching the fireworks, people are more spread out so it’s not as bad.”

Crews from the Department of Public Works (DPW) focused their efforts the morning after the July 3 display. Shultz said the department deploys its full crew for roughly a four-hour window.

“Generally speaking, we usually bring in the full crew, including our summer students, for about a four-hour window the morning after the fireworks,” Shultz said. “No extra help is required, just our standard crews but everyone is focused on cleanup.”

The work extends beyond collecting trash. Crews remove barricades and flagging placed throughout the event areas and reposition garbage cans in zones that see heavy foot traffic to better manage waste during the celebration. Shultz emphasized the importance of residents contributing to help keep the areas clean.

“With the fireworks on the third we are paying our guys overtime to be here, away from their families, to clean up,” Shultz said. “The worse things get left, the longer it takes to clean up, so we always appreciate those who leave their area better than they found it, by making sure their trash makes it all the way into the garbage and things like that.”

Alpena City Fire Chief Andy Marceau, whose department plays a central role in both planning and executing the fireworks show, said preparations for next year’s display are already underway.

“Planning for next year’s fireworks has already begun,” Marceau said. “I have been in touch with Small Town Saturday Fireworks at least twice already. Eventually (the plan) will be put together, and then I will follow up with a presentation to the city council with the date and how much it’s going to cost for their approval.”

Fundraising remains a critical piece of the puzzle, with the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce taking the lead on securing the necessary funds.

“The Chamber is instrumental in doing the fundraising for the fireworks,” Marceau said. “They do a lot of leg work behind the scenes, and some people see that, some don’t, but it’s a total team effort.”

That teamwork involves multiple city departments and local law enforcement. City staff, the Department of Public Works, fire and police departments all coordinate closely. The shift to launching fireworks from a pontoon on the water has added complexity to the operation.

“Shooting the fireworks from a pontoon on the water is a lot more labor intensive,” Marceau said.

This year’s launch from the Blair Street location presented an unexpected challenge when the pontoon was pushed up onto shore during loading.

“This year with the Blair Street launch location, the pontoon got pushed up on shore as they were loading the fireworks and it took eight to ten people to push the pontoon back in the water,” he said.

The Alpena County Sheriff’s Department assists by towing the pontoon to the proper launch site. Weather conditions on the bay remain a significant concern. Unlike rain, which might not always cancel a show, choppy waters or sudden wind shifts can create dangerous wave action.

“If the bay gets choppy or the winds suddenly change locations we would have to cancel the fireworks, not because of rain but because of the wave action in the bay and that is worrisome,” Marceau said.

Officials will evaluate the current location during an upcoming debriefing and have not ruled out returning to it next year.

“We might return to the same launch location we evaluate every year,” Marceau said. “There will be a debriefing in the near future.”

The change in launch site has not only affected cleanup patterns but also altered how crowds gather. With spectators more dispersed, pressure on any single area has decreased, allowing regular DPW crews to handle post-event duties efficiently.

Shultz noted that strategic placement of resources before the event helps minimize problems afterward. Moving garbage cans to high-traffic zones encourages proper disposal and reduces litter across parks and beaches. Barricades and flagging, while necessary for safety and crowd control, require careful removal to restore public spaces quickly.

The overtime work for public works employees underscores the personal cost of these community events. Crews forgo family time on a holiday weekend to ensure the city returns to normal operations swiftly. Marceau echoed the sense of shared responsibility.

“It’s a total team effort,” he said, crediting not only city departments but also the chamber and volunteers whose behind-the-scenes work makes the celebration possible.

As Alpena looks ahead, officials will balance tradition with practicality. The pontoon launch, while more demanding, offers a unique vantage point over the water that enhances the visual display for spectators. Safety remains paramount, with wind and wave conditions closely monitored right up until showtime.

For Shultz and his team, the goal each year is straightforward: leave the community better than they found it. When residents do their part by cleaning up after themselves, it lightens the load on the workers sacrificing their holiday and allows the city to focus resources on future improvements rather than extended recovery.

The annual fireworks display continues to draw families and visitors to Alpena, creating memories against the backdrop of the bay. Behind the bursts of color and thunderous booms lies months of planning, hours of setup and a dedicated crew ensuring the morning after brings minimal disruption and maximum community pride.