Impound towing by Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc in Columbus, Ohio
Events & Places

Red White & BOOM Towing and Roadside Help Downtown

Street closures, packed garages, a midnight exit and summer batteries: how to handle a breakdown or a missing car on fireworks night.

Call (740) 812-9489

If you are looking for Red White & BOOM towing help, this page covers the night when downtown Columbus holds hundreds of thousands of people and very few open streets. The fireworks festival fills the Scioto riverfront each summer, and the City closes a large rectangle of downtown to cars from late afternoon until midnight. That combination creates three problems we see every July: batteries that give out after hours of sitting in heat, keys locked inside cars in crowded garages, and drivers who return to find their car gone from a street that was posted for no parking. Below you will find the closure pattern organizers and news outlets published for 2026, what to do about each of those problems, and when we can and cannot reach you. We are an independent towing company with no tie to the event.

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The 2026 closure pattern and what changes for 2027

In 2026 the festival ran on Friday, July 3, and organizers put attendance above 400,000. The official site lists the 2027 edition for Friday, July 2, with fireworks scheduled at 10 p.m. for roughly 25 minutes, launched from Genoa Park beside COSI over the river. There is no rain date; if weather delays the show, organizers aim to fire it by midnight.

Closures started days early. Washington Boulevard between Broad and Main shut from June 27, and Civic Center Drive between Broad and Main from July 1. Marconi Boulevard between Long and Broad and the north curb lane of Broad closed the afternoon of July 2. On event day, parade staging closed streets from 2 p.m., the Main Street and Rich Street bridges shut to cars at 2 p.m., and at 5:30 p.m. every street inside Spring, Mound, McDowell and Third closed to vehicles until midnight. Accessible parking was set aside on South Wall Street and on Second Street between Mound and Civic Center Drive.

Garages, reserved spots and the midnight exit

Organizers list Convention Center Parking, Columbus Commons Parking and Park Columbus as parking partners and suggest reserving ahead through SpotHero near Battelle Riverfront Park, Bicentennial Park and McFerson Commons. Reserved or not, a garage inside the closure zone cannot empty until police reopen the streets, so plan on sitting in your car for a while after the last shell.

That wait is when trouble shows up. Idling with the air conditioning running, phones charging and the radio on drains a tired battery quickly, and a car that sat in July heat all afternoon starts the night already weakened. If your engine clicks on a garage deck, note the garage name, level and nearest stair tower before calling. Our parking-garage recovery trucks are low-profile for decks with tight clearance, but we still cannot drive through a closed street, so a jump inside the zone may have to wait until traffic control lifts.

If your car is missing from a downtown street

In past years the City has bagged downtown meters as no-parking spaces leading into and through the event, and temporary signs go up on closed blocks. A vehicle left in one of those spots can be removed. Do not assume theft: check the City's Find My Vehicle search first, and keep in mind that the City's impound lot at 2700 Impound Lot Road releases cars on weekdays only, so a Friday night tow may mean waiting until Monday.

Our Columbus impound lot guide lists the documents, payment types and published fees. If your car was pulled from a private surface lot instead, the posted sign at that lot names the company that has it. We cannot release a car from either place, but after you have the release we can tow it from the lot to your home or shop.

  • Photograph the spot and any signs before you leave
  • Search the City database before calling police about a theft
  • Bring ID and registration or title to the lot

Getting help from us on fireworks night

Call (740) 812-9489 and give dispatch a cross street outside the closure box if you can walk to one, or the exact garage and level if you cannot. Most metro calls are reached in 20 to 40 minutes, but on this night that estimate only begins once roads reopen around your location, and we will tell you honestly if we cannot get in yet.

A jump start includes a battery test with a printed report, and if the battery fails we can replace it on the spot. Keys locked inside? Our lockout service is a flat $75 plus en-route at $4 per mile from our yard. Calls after 10 p.m. carry the $150 after-hours surcharge, and a Friday edition does not trigger the weekend charge, all as shown on our rate card.

Red White & BOOM: common questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I get Red White & BOOM towing help while the streets are closed?

We will take your call at any hour, but no tow truck can enter the downtown closure box between 5:30 p.m. and midnight while police hold the streets. If you can safely walk to a street outside Spring, Mound, McDowell and Third, tell dispatch and we can plan around it. Otherwise we will schedule the jump, lockout or tow for the moment roads reopen.

Where are the tow-away areas on fireworks night?

The City posts temporary no-parking signs on closed blocks and has bagged downtown meters in past years. Treat any bagged meter or posted sign as off-limits, even if other cars are parked there. Parking in a garage or a reserved surface lot is safer. If you are unsure about a curb space, skip it; a missing car turns a good night into a Monday errand.

My car was towed from downtown after the fireworks. What now?

Run the City's Find My Vehicle search first. If your car is at the City lot, retrieval is weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and you need a physical photo ID plus registration or title. If it came from a private lot, the sign there names the towing company. Once released, we can tow it home if it will not start.

Why do so many cars have dead batteries after the fireworks?

Heat is hard on batteries, and a car that baked downtown all afternoon then idles for an hour in a garage queue with the AC and chargers running asks a lot of an older one. Our technician tests the battery after the jump and prints the results, so you know whether it is safe to drive home or should be replaced before you leave.

What does a jump start or lockout cost that night?

Both are a flat $75 plus en-route at $4 per mile from our yard. Because the show runs late, most calls land after 10 p.m., when the $150 after-hours surcharge applies. A weekend surcharge of $50 is added only when the date falls on a Saturday or Sunday. You can check every figure on the rate card before calling.

When does the 2027 Red White & BOOM take place?

The organizers' website lists Friday, July 2, 2027, with fireworks set for 10 p.m. and lasting about 25 minutes, launched from Genoa Park by COSI. Closure details for 2027 are usually announced close to the date, so check the official site and local news that week, and plan your parking before you drive downtown.

Related help

Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc is an independent towing company and is not affiliated with Red, White & BOOM!, its organizers and sponsors, or the City of Columbus.

Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc (dba Columbus Roadside Towing).
Corporate office (private, no walk-ins): 3879 Regatta Ct, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Tow yard & impound lot: 1620 Harrisburg Pike, Columbus, OH 43223
(740) 812-9489 · chris@columbusroadsidetowing.com

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