WELLFLEET, Mass. (AP) – Fireworks for a rescheduled Fourth of July weekend show exploded prematurely at about noon Saturday, destroying a truck and starting a brush fire, but causing no injuries.

The explosions happened on Indian Neck Beach, said Police Chief Richard Rosenthal. He said the explosions caused an impressive plume of smoke that people reported they could see for miles.

The company handling the display, Atlas PyroVision Productions of Jaffrey, N.H., said an electric-ignited fireworks shell prematurely fired during set-up, causing the fireworks to detonate on the ground instead. The accident sent 2,500 shells – about 25 minutes worth of fireworks – up in smoke, Atlas spokesman Matt Shea said.

Tragedy was averted when the head technician immediately evacuated the staging area, Shea said.

“That’s why we have certain safety guidelines. It’s a perfect example of what happens when you prepare for the accident,” he said. “It could have turned into a tragedy, and it didn’t, because the technician was well-aware of what he needed to do.”

Other local fire departments were summoned to help battle the brush fire. Rosenthal said there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Pat Bonomi, a retired summer resident of Nauset Road, said the fireworks went off 200 yards from her house so, “I had a front row seat.”

“It looked like 35 or 40 minutes of fireworks going off at high noon,” she said. “The sky was perfectly blue at the time it blew up. It was not like it would be at night.”

She said it seemed to be a typical show except for some unusual black smoke and the finale, which “all pretty much happened on the ground.”

Selectman Jerry Houk said he was across the harbor from where the fireworks were being set up and had a good view of the incident.

He said when the fireworks began going off, workers setting them up scattered and a truck containing fireworks exploded.

“There was nothing you could do but wait till everything exploded,” he said.

The fireworks show was first slated for July 2, but had been rescheduled for July 5, then rescheduled again to Saturday night.

Shea said Atlas, which performs about 700 shows a year, hopes to reschedule the show for August.

AP-ES-07-10-04 1813EDT