Juneau’s fireworks show postponed until Saturday night due to weather

Show traditionally occurs on the eve of Independence Day activities in Alaska’s capital, but rain also means delays during some years

A family watches Juneau’s fireworks show on the downtown cruise ship dock shortly after midnight on July 4, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Jasz Garrett and Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Juneau’s Fourth of July fireworks show, which traditionally takes place the night before the holiday, is being delayed until Saturday night due to weather, an organizer said Friday.

“It’s too windy for us to do setup," Sigrid Dahlberg, the show’s licensed pyrotechnician, told the Juneau Independent. "We’ve been in touch with the weather service, and it’s going to get windier and windier today."

"Tomorrow will probably be better for setup and way better for the show," she added.

The show is now scheduled to begin at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service Juneau forecast for Friday calls for rain, haze and patchy fog. The forecast for Saturday calls for a chance of rain and light winds.

Dahlberg said postponing the show is "not unusual, but it happens just infrequently enough that nobody can remember" the last time it occurred.

"I’d say every six or seven years we end up having to shift the show for weather," she said.

Juneau's tradition of a July 4 fireworks show that begins at 11:59 p.m. July 3 dates back to the city’s mining heyday in the 1890s, allowing miners who only had two days off— Christmas and the Fourth of July — to celebrate after dark on the eve of the holiday, according to the city’s website.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356. Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.