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From: jeffw@midas.WR.TEK.COM (Jeff Winslow)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,rec.pyrotechnics
Subject: New Year's Eve idiocy - an eyewitness report
Message-ID: <4655@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>
Date: 3 Jan 91 08:37:20 GMT
Sender: news@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM
Reply-To: jeffw@midas.WR.TEK.COM (Jeff Winslow)
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Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
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New Year's Eve brought the usual assortment of firecrackers, skyrockets,
M-80s (I guess - bright and LOUD), and so forth. As I was enjoying the show
(and giving thanks I live a good mile away from the jokers with the M-80s), 
I was startled by a green flash from a nearby substation. This thing was
BRIGHT - so bright it effectively washed out all other lights for dozens of
blocks on either side. The flash itself appeared to be about a half a city
block wide. There were two of them, about 10 seconds apart. And funny thing -
a lot of people's lights went out. :-)  Anyway, at the time I assumed some
fool had thrown a wire rope into the substation, or something like. But later
I wondered - with so much powdered metal in many pyro formulas, and 
particulate matter (conductive metal oxides?) left after their explosion,
is it possible that a skyrocket of some sort exploding among the wires would
alter the conductivity of air enough to let such an arc happen?

I still think the cable explanation, or something similar, is most likely.
It was quite a climax for the New Year's Eve "display"!

							Jeff Winslow