This summer, Unalaska will have fireworks on the Fourth of July.
That news follows fears earlier this month that there'd be no holiday display after the death of Larry Mattingly, the city's longtime pyrotechnician. Mattingly was in his late 70s when he died in February.
Planning Director Bil Homka said the city is signing a $31,000 contract with a new provider, Utah-based Lantis Fireworks & Lasers.
With Independence Day about a month away, Homka said the company's "significant experience" in Alaska will ensure the show goes on. It has produced shows in Anchorage, Seward, and several other communities in the state.
This isn't the first time Unalaska has had to scramble for its pyrotechnics display. In 2016 and 2014, the city had to put out new bids for the biannual shows on the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve.
