Wild scenes unfolded in the Northern Territory as locals celebrated the Territory Day holiday, with emergency services spread thin as fireworks sparked blazes.

Thousands of locals across northern Australia gathered on Wednesday night to celebrate the annual Territory Day festivities.

The Territory-wide celebration, also known as Cracker Night, marks the anniversary of the NT gaining self-government from the Commonwealth in 1978.

During the July 1 holiday, there is a five-hour window where Territorians can legally set off fireworks without a permit.

While the skies are lit up in a myriad of colourful flames, there were plenty of consequences for celebrators on the ground as miscreants ran rampant — causing injuries and multiple blazes.

NT Fire and Emergency Services confirmed to The Nightly that they had responded to 159 incidents across the NT during the mayhem.

Blazes included multiple grass fires, a structure fire involving a shed, and a car set alight.

A photo supplied to the Nightly by the Department also shows a boat near the water heavily smoking, while an aerial photograph shows a large blaze coming from a car.

Vision seen by The Nightly shows a man using an orange traffic cone to launch a firework over a full carpark, in what has been locally nicknamed the “Bogan Rocket Launcher”.

A separate video shows two shirtless men riding in the tray of a Toyota, with the duo using a handheld firework gun to shoot pyrotechnics into the sky as the car descended down the Esplanade.

In the clip, locals were also seen sparking fires in shopping trolleys, rubbish bins, and even as they approached an alfresco dining area.

Some Territorians were quick to call out those who were recklessly using the fireworks.

“There can be life changing injuries from this reckless stupidity,” one user commented on the clip.

“It’s like a warzone, absolute madness,” a second shared.

“It’s hard to justify why this is allowed,” a third local wrote.

Northern Territory police did not state if any arrests were made over firework-related incidents.

Unexpected fires weren’t the only danger of Cracker Night, however.

NT Health has confirmed to The Nightly that 36 people suffered firework-related injuries amid the celebrations.

“This number is down from the 41 firework related injuries in 2025,” a spokesperson said.

“Alice Springs Hospital had 4 minor firework-related presentations at the Emergency Department on the evening of 1 July 2026.”

St John NT regional manager Ben Minchin confirmed that six injuries were reported to paramedics, with the youngest patient being a four-year-old who received minor facial injuries in Alice Springs.

The other five people tended to by St John were located in Darwin.

“Three of (the Darwin patients) were transferred to hospital by us all with minor injuries and another two made their own way to hospital,” he revealed in a press conference on Thursday.

“We ramp up for Cracker Night — we put extra crews on nearly every location we have, but thankfully we didn’t need them all.”

Acting NTFES Commissioner Stephen Sewell praised the Territory’s emergency services for their response during the chaos.

“I’d like to thank our firefighters, emergency services volunteers and all frontline personnel who worked through the night to keep our community safe,” the Acting Commissioner told media in a statement.

“Now that the celebrations have wrapped up for 2026, Territorians are reminded that fireworks can no longer be discharged or stored at home until next year.”