Clifton Forge Fireworks Light Up the Night— After Maybe Just a Bit of Confusion By Jennifer Bailey Staff Writer   Clifton Forge, VA (July 3, 2025)— Every year, the town of Clifton Forge lights up the summer sky with a dazzling fireworks display that brings the community together in celebration of our nation's birthday. This year, as the clock encroached on 9:30 p.m., an announcement was made over the loudspeaker by Mott Atherholt that began with, "I hate to have to make this announcement..." It would seem reasonable to assume that every heart sank at such a grim introduction. Atherholt shared there were several train cars near the fireworks display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center that were believed to be carrying flammable liquids. Naturally, it would have been a safety hazard to set off the fireworks in such close proximity. Visitors were then told that it would take about an hour before things could get moving. As such, this year's beautiful fireworks display was to be cancelled. However, visitors were encouraged to visit the Jackson River Sports Complex tomorrow evening for Covington's fireworks display. The Journal was quite surprised to see Clifton Forge's fireworks then going off into the air as we were getting into our car. We rushed back to the scene to learn what had changed since the initial announcement. After speaking with two of the firefighters on site, we learned that the announcement was merely supposed to postpone —not cancel— this year's fireworks. We also learned that the train cars were indeed carrying flammables. Therefore, they had to be moved, given that the fireworks were live and, according to the firefighter, had to be let off for safety reasons.

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