No staff, no supply or rain halting fireworks
The night skies of some U.S. cities will remain dark this Independence Day, with supply chain and staffing shortages, drought and concerns over wildfires leading to the cancellation of several fireworks shows across the country.
For some, it will be the third year in a row that their shows have been called off.
“The first two years were pandemic-related and this year; it's supply-chain-related,” said Adam Waltz, a spokesman for Phoenix, where the three main fireworks displays have been canceled.
According to Waltz, the vendor that usually supplies the city its fireworks had been unable to promise the product.
“It's just disheartening,” he added.
Other cities have canceled their fireworks displays over concerns about wildfires. Across the West in particular, drought, and hot, dry and windy weather this summer has already helped to set the conditions for fast-moving blazes. As of Wednesday, there were five wildfires burning across the region.
In Flagstaff, Ariz., city officials decided they would rather plan a laser light show than organize fireworks that they may have to cancel at the last minute, if weather conditions meant they could not conduct the show safely. “We face dangerous conditions,” said Sarah Langley, a spokeswoman for the city.
She said that the city had not yet made any decisions about whether it would continue to replace fireworks with laser light shows.
In North Lake Tahoe, city officials said they decided to replace their annual July 4th fireworks show with drones, also because of fire hazards, as well as other environmental risks. (A variety of chemicals that can be polluting are needed to make fireworks spectacles big, loud and colorful.)
Displays at the Don Pedro Lake, about 50 miles east of Modesto, have also been called off because of the state's crippling drought.
Other cities have canceled their shows because of staffing shortages.
Cal Expo in Sacramento said that it needed to focus its staffing and resources on the upcoming state fair and food festival, and was therefore unable to host its Independence Day fireworks. In Ocean City, Md., authorities said two fireworks shows could not take place because of “labor shortages.” Officials in Minneapolis also said they had to call off the display because of construction at a local park, as well as staffing issues.
In many other parts of the country, including New York City, Independence Day celebrations are going ahead as planned. For some, it is the first time they will be displaying fireworks since before the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everybody is ready to celebrate their independence from this virus,” said Julie L. Heckman, the executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.
Heckman said that while some shows were being canceled, she still expected the number of professional fireworks displays across the country to exceed those of 2020 and 2021.
“Demand is at 110% of prepandemic levels,” Heckman said, adding that she expected close to 17,000 shows across the country in the days surrounding Independence Day. (Before the coronavirus pandemic, she said, there were about 16,000 shows during this period nationwide.)
Some residents in cities with canceled shows are planning to light their own fireworks. Some types of consumer fireworks are legal in 49 states as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, although individual counties and cities can enforce bans, Heckman said. Consumer fireworks are banned in Massachusetts.