Where will Pahrump hold its Fireworks Show in 2026?

New homes are going up just west of Petrack Park and as a result, the town of Pahrump’s annual Fireworks Show must be moved to a new location.

“Simply because of the structures being built off Basin Avenue,” Eddie O’Brien of Zambelli Fireworks, the contracted company that has been putting on the local fireworks for many years, told the Pahrump Valley Times this summer. “Our insurance most likely won’t approve of that site [Petrack Park] anymore, once they see the updated plans.”

The Pahrump Fireworks Show has history that goes back over 50 years and officials were not about to let it disappear for lack of a venue. Once this year’s show was said and done, county and town staff started to consider where the show could be relocated and this week, they landed on a decision.

The new site for the Pahrump Fireworks Show will be a parcel at 1691 S. Pahrump Valley Blvd., which is encircled by a large area of vacant, county-owned property. Nye County Manager Brett Waggoner said staff has already consulted with Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue for its approval of the site and Nye County Commission Chair Ron Boskovich remarked, “I think that’s an amazing location for this!”

Waggoner explained that the county would need to make some improvements to the area prior to the show, to prevent fire hazards, adding that all spectators for the show would be directed into Ian Deutch Memorial Park to observe at a safe distance. “Ian Deutch Park is across the street and well outside of the fallout zone, according to the specs for the different sized shells,” he stated.

But John O’Brien, another pyrotechnician for Zambelli Fireworks, expressed his concern with the selected site, noting that wind in the area could create a problem.

“This is too congested,” he stated. “You’d be required to remove the brush from a large amount of area… you’d have to put up a security fence around the entire lot while the fireworks are stored there. You would have to provide security on that particular area.”

Pahrump resident Ammie Nelson agreed, chiming in, “Doctors’ offices are right across from that area, it’s pretty close to apartments and homes, not to mention people at the park.”

However, commissioner Debra Strickland pointed out, “I actually think we own more land here, within this area, than we do at Petrack Park,” and Waggoner added that the location was actually less densely developed than Petrack Park.

“It amazes me that no one has been to Petrack Park and watched the fireworks and saw how close everybody parks to the fireworks and where they sit in the park, right behind where the fireworks are shot off and downwind of where the fireworks are shot off. That is, in my opinion, obviously a lot closer than what we’re proposing. And in consulting with the fire department, he [fire chief Scott Lewis] does prefer this location,” Waggoner asserted.

The only other option the county had considered for the show was the Pahrump Fairgrounds, which would have cost around $500,000 to make ready for such a large event.

“That’s a considerable amount of money. There’s still the cost of doing business, for example, with public works having to remove brush [from the new site] so nothing is ignited… But that’s minimal… We’re not going to get even remotely close to that $500,000,” commissioner Bruce Jabbour remarked. “And it’s going to be our 250th anniversary, so it’s going to be a magnificent display, wherever we have it.”

Strickland made the motion to approve the new site for the Pahrump Fireworks Show, Jabbour offered a second and the motion passed 4-1, with commissioner John Koenig – who remained silent throughout the discussion – against.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com