The night skies of some US cities will remain dark this Independence Day, with supply chain and personnel shortages, drought and concerns about wildfires leading to the cancellation of several fireworks displays across the country.
For some, it will be the third year in a row that their shows have been canceled.
“The first two years were pandemic-related and this year it’s supply-chain related,” said Adam Waltz, a spokesperson for the city of Phoenix, where the three major fireworks displays have been canceled. According to Mr. Waltz, the seller who usually supplies the city with its fireworks could not have promised the product.
“It’s just discouraging,” he added.
Other cities have canceled their fireworks displays due to concerns about wildfires. Especially in the West, drought and hot, dry and windy weather this summer have already helped create the conditions for fast-moving fires. On Friday, there were 55 major wildfires in 11 states, including the Rices fire in Nevada County, California, which had grown to more than 900 acres since it started Tuesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In Flagstaff, Ariz., about 150 miles north of Phoenix, city officials decided they would rather schedule a laser light show than stage fireworks that they might have to cancel at the last minute if weather conditions prevented them from seeing the show safely. to carry out.
“We are facing dangerous conditions,” said Sarah Langley, a spokeswoman for the city. She said the city had not yet made any decisions about whether it would continue to replace fireworks with laser light shows in the coming years.
In North Lake Tahoe, California, city officials said they decided to replace their annual July 4 fireworks display with drones, also because of fire and other environmental risks. (It takes several chemicals that can be polluting to make fireworks glasses big, loud, and colorful.)
Performances at Don Pedro Lake, about 50 miles east of Modesto, California, and Claremont, California, about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, have also been canceled due to the state’s crippling drought.
In Claremont, this is the third year in a row that the show has been canceled, said Melissa Vollaro, a city spokeswoman. She said it would take about 650,000 gallons of water to wet the area where the fireworks are being released, which was impossible under current water restrictions. Instead, she said, the city planned a concert in the park.
Other cities have canceled their shows due to staff shortages.
Cal Expo in Sacramento said it had to focus its staff and resources on the upcoming state fair and food festival, and therefore was unable to stage the Independence Day fireworks. In Ocean City, Maryland, authorities said two fireworks displays could not take place due to “manpower shortages”. Officials in Minneapolis also said they had to cancel the exhibit due to construction work at a local park and staffing problems.
In many other parts of the country, including New York City, Independence Day celebrations continue as planned. For some, it is the first time they set off fireworks since before the coronavirus outbreak.
“Everyone is ready to celebrate their independence from this virus,” said Julie L. Heckman, the executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.
Ms. Heckman said that while some shows were cancelled, she still expected the number of professional fireworks shows across the country to surpass those of 2020 and 2021.
“Demand is at 110 percent of prepandemic levels,” Ms Heckman said, adding that she expected nearly 17,000 shows across the country in the days surrounding Independence Day. (Before the coronavirus pandemic, she said, there were about 16,000 shows nationwide during this period.)
Some residents of towns with canceled shows plan to set off their own fireworks. Some types of consumer fireworks are legal in 49 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, although individual counties and cities can enforce bans, Ms. Heckman said. Consumer fireworks are banned in Massachusetts.
Dennis Revell, a spokesperson for TNT Fireworks, the largest consumer fireworks distributor in the country, said that in 2020, when the vast majority of public events were canceled, TNT’s sales have increased significantly, both in terms of gross sales and revenue. the number of people who buy their products. “We kept a lot of that in 2021,” said Mr Revell. But, he added, “It is far too early to predict what 2022 will look like.”
However, some smaller retailers also face supply chain issues.
Eyvonne Hall, the owner of Discount Fireworks in Brainerd, Minn., about 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis, said she had been waiting more than a month for some orders, which previously took about a week.
She said she called 12 different suppliers looking for a particularly beloved fireworks display: Pure Fantasy. “They’re beautiful and colorful, and the fountain goes up a little way and people love that,” said Ms. Hall. “It’s been slow this year,” she added. “I just hope it might get better in the coming days.”
In Queen Creek, about 40 miles southeast of Phoenix, where public fireworks displays have been canceled, another vendor said her business had been busted, thanks in part to the cancellations.
“They are very disappointed, which is a shame, but they are very excited to try these new fountains at home,” Christian Valles, who runs the fireworks stand, said of her customers. She added, “they’ll get a good show.”
Michael Lusiak, a fireworks enthusiast from Green Bay, Wisconsin, about 115 miles north of Milwaukee, said he’s been trying to put on his private show since 2020, hoping to dazzle Independence Day revelers who may never go anywhere else.
The best moment, said Mr. Lusiak, a farmhand who hosts the shows in his employer’s cornfield, is the grand finale. “I can feel the shock waves in my chest and I know I’m making a statement that thousands of people will see or hear,” he said.
“All the cheers and the horns honking,” he added, “that’s one of the best feelings in the world.”