American Independence: 4th of July Fireworks Cancelled due to Wildfire Danger
American Independence: 4th of July Fireworks Cancelled due to Wildfire Danger
Show Low and Prescott Valley are the latest Arizona communities to cancel planned July Fourth fireworks because of extreme fire danger.
Flagstaff, Prescott, Cave Creek and Williams previously canceled their holiday fireworks displays.The National Weather Service in Flagstaff released a report Monday saying that fire danger will increase with dry, hot weather expected this week across northern Arizona.
Prescott Valley’s announcement Monday said it had plans for added patrol and fire protection but decided to cancel its display because dry conditions and the lack of in the immediate forecast.
Show Low also says it canceled its fireworks display due to extreme fire danger.
There are slightly better odds of “wetter-than-normal conditions” developing across central and eastern Arizona the first week in July, according to the Weather Service.
Town officials in Cave Creek shut down a popular fireworks show due to wildfire concerns.
The town’s fire official sent a letter notifying Southwest Fireworks LLC and Harold’s Corral that their application to host the fireworks show was denied.
“After much consideration, research and input from local emergency responders, we have determined that with the extreme drought conditions currently present in the Town of Cave Creek it is not safe to allow Display Fireworks,” Chief Building and Fire Official Mike Baxley stated in the June 13 letter.
Williams also canceled its show due to the fire danger and predicted forecast for the month of July. No additional cancellations had been reported as of Monday afternoon.
While many recreational areas of national forests in Arizona have been closed off by authorities because of the dry conditions in the state that have created an extreme wildfire risk, many cities still have fireworks shows scheduled.
n recent weeks, Prescott, Cave Creek, Flagstaff and Williams all announced July 4 fireworks show cancellations because of the extreme wildfire risks in nearby areas.
The dry conditions have resulted from minimal amounts of rain and snow this year and already sparked several wildfires in parts of northern, eastern and southeast Arizona, all of which have been controlled.
Show Low announced the cancellation on its Facebook page Monday afternoon. Prescott Valley also posted on the town’s Facebook page late in the morning, saying the cancellation was due to “extreme dry conditions.”
“After 22 years of successful and safe fireworks displays, Town of Prescott Valley Manager Larry Tarkowski regretfully shared the decision on Monday to cancel this year’s show,” Prescott’s Facebook post said.
“Although the fireworks had been permitted by the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority and the Town had plans for added patrol and fire protection, historic dry conditions, the lack of forecast rain and extreme fire danger through the coming week led to the decision.”
While the fireworks displays were canceled, the food, games and live entertainment in Mountain Valley Park will continue as planned. The fireworks show will be moved to the Town’s 40th Anniversary Pinnacle weekend on Aug. 25, the post read.
With less than 36 hours to go before dusk and what would normally be showtime, almost 50 fireworks displays in Colorado alone have been cancelled or drastically reworked. There will be no official fireworks show in Durango, where haze from nearby fires still hangs in the air below the peaks of the picturesque San Juan Mountains.
Aspen is having a drone show in lieu of fireworks this year; Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs are both doing laser light shows instead. Well known mountain destinations like Vail, Telluride and Breckenridge have completely cancelled their shows.
As of July 3, the Colorado Department of Public Safety reported at least nine wildfires burning in the state, including the Chedsey fire near Steamboat and two fires outside of Durango. I can smell the smoke from the Spring Creek fire in southcentral Colorado at my home in New Mexico.
A handful of fireworks shows have also been cancelled here, as well as in Arizona and California.
In Ohio, towns near Toledo have also cancelled their festivities, not necessarily because of fire danger, but because of health concerns associated with triple-digit temperatures gripping parts of the northeast.
News Source: forbes.com, azcentral.com, tucson.com
