The Fourth of July is exploding in popularity, to hear Travis Leeman tell it.

“It’s actually really busy this year. The sales are up quite a bit over last year,” said Leeman, manager of the Discount Fireworks Superstore, a pop-up fireworks store in the parking lot of Bend Factory Outlet Stores in southeast Bend. “Last year was a really good year.”

The white walls of the tent flapped in the strong winds Monday evening as Leeman discussed the uptick in sales. He’s been managing fireworks pop-ups for about 10 years, starting back in Cornelius, located west of Portland.

“I started this with my family, our church, up there,” he said. “When I moved down to Bend to go to college, I was offered to open up a tent here in Central Oregon. We’ve been open here in Bend for four years now. We ran a tent in Redmond … for three or four years as well.”

Open since June 23 — the earliest fireworks retailers can open in the days leading up to the holiday — the store sells only fireworks that are legal in Oregon: sparklers, smoke bombs, spinners and fountains that don’t shoot above 8 feet. Fireworks perhaps commonplace elsewhere, even bottle rockets and firecrackers, are not allowed.

Kid-friendly items such as smoke bombs and sparklers are stocked near the front of Discount Fireworks Superstore, aka DFS, where smaller items can range from a few bucks to $50 and $60 for bigger “finale” fireworks. “The White House,” which is on “super sale” for $44.99, features multi-hued “trees,” “crackers” and “waterfalls.”

The names on the packages are as colorful as the contents: Screaming Patriot, High Voltage, Insane Fountain, Gator Revenge, Pistol Packin’ Mama, The Patriot Assortment, Concealed Weapon are among the many fireworks on sale.

DFS sells its own brand of fireworks now, including the 500-gram Freedom Fury fountain, which is endowed with a “max powder load” of 500 grams, according to its box, which is emblazoned with the glowering face of a bald eagle. It sells for $45.99.

Based on the brisk sales at DFS, Leeman and Kaufmann are not predicting a quiet holiday this year. In fact, on Sunday, a customer dropped just over $1,000 on fireworks.

“One of them had to bring their extra car so we could load that up too,” Leeman said.

Sales clerk Mike Kaufmann said that on Monday, a man shopping with his granddaughter dropped $300 on fireworks.

“She was like, “Wow, Grandpa, this is going to be awesome!’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, Grandma’s going to kill us, but we’re going to have A LOT of fun,’” Kaufmann said. “It’s a lot of stuff like that, you know, where people are — I think they’re just ready to let go and have fun.”

Pilot Butte fireworks

Pilot Butte’s annual fireworks display is set to begin at 10 p.m. Saturday and will be visible from many perches and places around Bend. Just as Discount Fireworks Superstore’s customers will not let July Fourth go out without a bang, the Bend New Car Dealership Association, which has provided the funding for the annual fireworks display on Pilot Butte the last few years, has upped the ante this year, said Matt Thomas, owner of Subaru of Bend.

“We increased it by two-thirds,” Thomas said, referring to the budget for this year’s display, which has been increased from $30,000 to $50,000. Other organizations that stepped up to help fund the display, include ASI Wealth Management, Hooker Creek Companies, Hayden Homes and Empire Truck Works.

“I had to commit by February, so this is before the pandemic and all that. So I go, ‘Let’s make this big, and any additional dollars, we’ll put right to fireworks — you know, the new car dealers aren’t looking for a payback or anything.”

“They stepped up to the plate in a really big way,” Thomas said, “so that I don’t have to cover … everything. So that’s pretty nice. These are friends of mine, and we help each other, right? I would’ve had it covered, but this virus thing screwed up everything.”

The community-minded spirit of the Pilot Butte fireworks also includes the Bend-based company that will be in charge of the show, Sure Shot Blasting and Fireworks, a family-owned business.

Gary Mattison of Sure Shot does between 27 and 35 shows a year at speedways and baseball games, including for Bend Elks last year.

“It’s freaking a passion,” Mattison said, adding that it’s rewarding to be doing the Pilot Butte show in Bend, where he’s lived for 25 years.

“They put some pressure on me,” he said, laughing. “First time this year, and it’s the biggest show, basically, Bend’s had in years.”

Though Saturday’s higher-budget pyrotechnic show did not come about due to the coronavirus pandemic, the big show certainly timed out well, Thomas said.

“We’re doing this. Everything’s being canceled in Central Oregon except the Fourth of July,” Thomas said. “This year will probably be the biggest one, just because they’re shut down everywhere in the state, that I’m aware of.” (The annual display at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond is among the casualties.)

One of the reasons the Bend New Car Dealership Association puts on the show is to help people stay safe instead of trying to put on their own illegal fireworks displays, he said.

“All we have to sell here are the mountains and the forests. You burn the sons of b–ches down, and then what have you got?” Thomas said. “We thought if we make this big enough then we can (tell people), ‘Let us do the big (stuff). You guys grab your sparklers, your smoke bombs,’ right? Just do that.”

‘Watch it go boom’

Back at Discount Fireworks Superstore, Leeman and Kaufmann were convinced that people are spending more this year on fireworks because of the coronavirus and shutdown.

“It seems like people are pretty cooped up,” Leeman said. “They want to let out some aggression with some fireworks.”

“They’re ready to light stuff on fire and watch it go boom,” Kaufmann said in agreement.

“It seems like a good way to let off some steam,” Leeman said.

“The quarantine brings out everyone’s inner pyro, I guess,” Kaufman said, laughing. “It’s a good way to let off some steam and have a good time with the family.”