July 4th preparations are underway for Friday night's celebration in Colorado Springs' Memorial Park. Some people were disappointed with last year's party, which featured a laser light show instead of fireworks. But now that the fireworks ban has been lifted, pyrotechnic crews are ready to put on a big show.

Mortar tubes will provide a brilliant 20-minute display on Friday night. The crews call this a "labor of love." And fireworks fans will see plenty of red, white and blue.

If things go according to plan, the fireworks will go off in unison with the music, provided by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

And as the crews set up the fireworks, they have "safety" on their minds.
Five people died in Florida on Wednesday when a trailer of fireworks exploded.

Thos Lesser says the company he works for has a lot of experience and a good safety record. "Little tiny things happen, but we've never had an accident where somebody's been seriously injured." However, he says it wouldn't take much to trigger such an accident. "Sparks are bad---static electricity---we watch out for that. We don't slide things. We don't bang things."

This crew hopes that with a little caution, it will be a safe and fun Fourth of July.

The fireworks display is set to begin a little after sunset Friday night. And you better plan to get there early---officials expect to see tens of thousands of people in and around the Memorial Park.