The Mercury News

DRONES BECOME SHOWSTOPPE­RS

As drought persists, some cities are replacing fireworks displays with the lighted flying objects

- By John Metcalfe jmetcalfe@ bayareanew­sgroup.com

It's Friday night — and game night — at the Oakland A's RingCentra­l Coliseum, when a man lumbers over a Jersey barrier in the parking lot.

“I just want to say, you do a freaking awesome job!” he yells, as he's corralled by ballpark security. “Keep up the good work!”

Was Ramon Laureano cleaning his cleats nearby? Not quite. The enthusiast­ic spectator's attention is directed at 250 drones arranged in a grid on the pavement. In lieu of traditiona­l fireworks after that night's game, the machines will ascend into the sky and reproduce icons from the “Star Wars” universe — Vader, the Death Star, that adorable green grub, Baby Yoda.

This late-April game is one of several A's events to feature a drone show (the next will be Aug. 27).

“We are always looking for new experience­s we can bring to the ballpark, and the drone light shows are a great addition to our lineup,” said A's spokespers­on Erica George. “Fan reaction has been overwhelmi­ngly positive.”

Managing the April show was Rick Boss of Fort Worthbased Sky Elements with a team of FAA-licensed drone pilots.

Boss has 15 years of pyrotechni­cs experience under his belt but started moving into the drone sphere 18 months ago.

“The truth is the fireworks business is very similar to this. You got to bring gear and fireworks and set it all up,” he said. “Parts of it are easier — fireworks are heavier, dirtier. But what's harder is, this technology is very young. There's only 50 (companies) of any decent size in the world doing it, and only about four of us in the U.S. that do these size shows.”

There have been 350 significan­t drone shows in the United States, Boss estimates, but each month that number shoots up. His people now travel the country in multiple fleets to produce events.

“The demand is just through the roof. Right now every drone company is sold out for the Fourth,” he said. “It's pretty much people who have ridiculous money or big stadiums or events. We're in Miami flying for Formula 1 parties. The majority of events are corporate in nature. We've got a couple weddings coming up, but they're very highend weddings. One of them wanted to do fireworks but

there's a fire danger.”

Ah, yes — fire. Fireworks were responsibl­e for igniting some 19,500 blazes across the United States in 2018 alone, according to the National Fire Protection Associatio­n. That danger is pronounced in the drought-parched West, where anything warmer than a toasted bagel can trigger a devastatin­g conflagrat­ion. Last year's Caldor Fire — which burned some 220,000 acres over two months in Northern California — is thought to have been started by two guys shooting guns in the woods.

That wildfire is one of the reasons municipali­ties in northern Lake Tahoe are switching to drones this Fourth of July.

“Throwing lit objects into the sky in the height of the fire season might not be the best thing to do,” said Andy Chapman, president and CEO of the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau. “We talked with our fire chief, who was like, `I don't even know if I can permit a fireworks show.' Given the low snow year we've had, everything is drying out pretty quickly.”

“Based off the threat of fires coming back this fire season, we started looking at not only the risk of fireworks but also just the impacts to the environmen­t,” said Katie Biggers, executive director of the Tahoe City Downtown Associatio­n. “We're obviously trying to be very cognizant of the clarity of the lake. There's also noise pollution that comes along with fireworks that our animals are affected by, as well as our veterans. There's a lot of folks up here who might suffer from PTSD.”

Drones might actually end up cheaper than Tahoe's traditiona­l Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns, which have additional expenses.

“You need divers to go down and get any debris,” Biggers said.

Two Colorado towns have replaced Fourth of July fireworks with drones due to wildfire concerns. In Texas, Galveston will launch drones on America's birthday to reduce fireworks debris on beaches. And Southern California's Big Bear Lake is having a Memorial Day drone show.

“We have a baby eagle near Big Bear Lake that has not yet fledged, so the drone-lights show should be less of a possible disturbanc­e,” said Michael Perry, CEO of Visit Big Bear.

Drones have shortcomin­gs, of course. Their battery life typically lasts about 15 minutes, before they need to be landed, recharged, then sent back up. And fireworks provide a visceral impact that humming, LED-lit machines lack.

“A traditiona­l fireworks show is really about the multisenso­ry experience. You see the pyrotechni­cs rise into the air, hear them break open and burst. You see the colors, and sometimes we get to smell the smoke,” said Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechni­cs Associatio­n in Bethesda, Maryland. “Drones are pretty, but they're boring. I think they're maybe a nice accompanim­ent to a fireworks show.”

As the April A's game comes to a close, families pour onto the field with blankets. Hundreds of drones spell out the “Star Wars” logo, then rearrange into a TIE Fighter and a lightsaber that extends incrementa­lly. You can hardly hear the “pew pew!” particle-weapon sounds piped in due to the cheering.

The show ends without a hitch, though not all do. Drones have vulnerabil­ities that fireworks don't. In the parking lot, Boss shares war stories with spectators Gabriel Serrato and his young son, Sawyer, attending the game from Alameda.

“My dad was flying (our drone), and a seagull thought it was food,” Sawyer said.

Boss countered with his own story.

“We were doing a show for NASCAR,” he said, when “something hit the drone, and took it out. I think we got attacked by a bat.”

“Throwing lit objects into the sky in the height of the fire season might not be the best thing to do ... We talked with our fire chief, who was like, `I don't even know if I can permit a fireworks show.'” — Andy Chapman, president and CEO of the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau

 ?? JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP ?? Baseball fans look up at the sky to catch an outline of C-3PO during a “Star Wars” drone light show at the Coliseum in Oakland on April 29. Sky Elements Drone Shows used 250drones to perform a 10-minute show after that night's A's game.
JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP Baseball fans look up at the sky to catch an outline of C-3PO during a “Star Wars” drone light show at the Coliseum in Oakland on April 29. Sky Elements Drone Shows used 250drones to perform a 10-minute show after that night's A's game.
 ?? ?? Rick Boss of Sky Elements Drone Shows holds a drone that will be used after the April 29game. “The demand is just through the roof,” he said about his shows.
Rick Boss of Sky Elements Drone Shows holds a drone that will be used after the April 29game. “The demand is just through the roof,” he said about his shows.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States