Was Potato Drop explosion in Boise a misfire? Here’s what police reports show
Police reports shed some light on the origin of the “fireball” explosion during the pyrotechnics show at the annual New Year’s Eve Idaho Potato Drop in Downtown Boise — a blast that shattered windows at a downtown building, seriously injuring a child.
A Boise Police Department information report on the incident said the explosion, which happened shortly after midnight near Capitol Boulevard and Bannock Street, was not a misfire, according to Jon Galane, pyrotechnics technician and owner of SirJag Pyro Displays, which handled the fireworks show for the event.
Galane told police that there were no mishaps during the show. He did did not respond to a request from the Idaho Statesman for comment.
A Boise police detective with expertise in pyrotechnics wrote in the report that the event’s fireworks plan pointed to a display of eight fireballs as the cause of the blast. The explosion shattered three windows at an AT&T-owned building on the corner of Capitol and Bannock, and cracked two double-paned windows at the nearby Idaho Capitol building.
Glass from the windows at the AT&T building fell on bystanders, including a child who had “a serious, non-life-threatening injury” from a large shard, according to the report and Boise Police Department spokesperson Haley Williams. A GoFundMe fundraiser for the child’s medical bills said she was struck in the face, requiring a skin graft and surgery.
The police report noted that the fireworks setup for the 2025-26 event was similar to those in years past — although this display had an additional 12 fireballs lined up near the eight fireballs that created the explosion, and the additional fireworks were set to go off two at a time later in the display.
The report said the 12 additional fireballs went off as planned after the outsized explosion.
It’s not entirely clear what caused the fireballs to detonate so intensely, according to the report. Weather conditions did not appear to affect the blast pressure.
The police pyrotechnics expert wrote that there were food trucks near the fireworks site that had not initially been planned for that area. The expert said in the report that “blast pressure waves can reflect off solid objects, such as the ground, buildings, etc. When blast pressure waves reflect off objects and collide with other pressure waves, it can magnify the pressure.”
The Boise Police Department determined that there was no crime related to the explosion, Williams said.
Boise event blast was ‘not what we were going for,’ pyrotechnics lead says
According to the police report, Boise Police Officer Cameron Kolos approached Galane and Idaho Potato Drop CEO Dylan Cline after the fireworks show, informing them that the windows at the AT&T building had shattered.
Kolos’ body camera footage from this conversation showed that Cline responded to the news by saying, “f**k yeah, Jon,” and high-fiving Galane — who responded, “That is not what we were going for.”
Cline and the Idaho Potato Drop did not respond to requests for comment.
Kolos also informed the men that there were unconfirmed reports of broken windows at the Statehouse. Cline then said the Potato Drop would not be held in Boise again, and made disparaging, curse-filled remarks about the city of Boise, according to the report.
The officer then told Galane and Cline that a child was injured by the shattered glass.
“Dylan and John’s demeanor changed, looking shocked, concerned, and upset,” according to the report.
Cline then apologized for his “insensitive remark,” said he hoped the child was OK and praised the Boise Police Department — before making a disparaging remark about Boise Mayor Lauren McLean.
