Actual subheading in a Washington Post article this morning: “No Explosion Expected Tomorrow.” It’s like April Fool’s Day came early.

If you aren’t a DC person, you missed this bit of hilarity regarding the alleged impending fireball in Georgetown. I can hear what you’re thinking, “What? That sounds insane!” Truly. Not to mention wildly inaccurate.

Briefly yesterday — before officials hastily issued a correction — it looked like commuters near Georgetown would be in for quite a show tomorrow morning.

“For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion on Wednesday . . . between 9:30 a.m. and noon near the Key Bridge,” read a somewhat exaggerated advisory from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The bulletin, which was quickly posted on news Web sites and which the council later attributed to interagency miscommunication, said, “The explosion will produce a 20 to 30′ fireball that will last for approximately two minutes.”

Cool!

But no — not in this hyper-secure, hyper-vigilant capital city. A prolonged explosion? A towering fireball? Imagine the potential for panic.

The article then goes on to explain that the show being filmed, a CBS show called, “Washington Field,” isn’t really going to try to incinerate the city. Josh Friedman, from the DC Film Office goes on to explain that the very word “explosion” was “misleading” and provides further clarification about the shoot, which will take place out in the Potomac:

“It will last for two seconds, not two minutes. It’s really just going to be a flash of light and a puff of smoke, and it will be vaporized into the air in seconds. Really — I mean, if you blink, you’ll miss it. It’s really a nonevent.”

So there you have it.