Some US cities replace July 4th fireworks with eco-friendly drones

() — The threat of fire and concern for the environment have led some American cities to forgo traditional Fourth of July fireworks this year in favor of eye-catching drone light shows.

Salt Lake City (Utah) tried this alternative way of celebrating Independence Day this Saturday with the first drone show in its history.

The city’s mayor, Erin Mendenhall, said in a news release that the new format was an effort to minimize the area’s “high fire danger” and to lessen air quality issues. caused by fireworks.

“As temperatures rise and fire danger increases, we need to be mindful of both our air quality and the potential for wildfires,” Mendenhall said in the statement.

Utah sees an average of 800 to 1,000 wildfires a year, and the state is among the most wildfire-prone in the US, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.

In neighboring Colorado, also in his wildfire seasonthe city of Boulder made a similar decision this year with its first nightly drone display next week.

Before the covid-19 pandemic, the city had celebrated its Ralphie’s Independence Day Blast since 1941, according to a social media post.

“Switching from traditional fireworks to drones was not an easy decision and was based on a number of factors, including increased fire danger fueled by climate change,” the city government stated. through Facebook.

A fleet of drones from Drone Studios will light up parts of Southern California for the 4th of July celebrations. (Credit: Jeff Stein/Drone Studios)

Dan Kingdom, owner of WK Real Estate in Boulder, said the committee responsible for planning the city’s Fourth of July celebrations went the drone route this year after considering environmental impacts and their difficulties in tracking fires. artificial, he told .

“The fact that we had the marshall fire here in our community about 18 months ago was one of the things we discussed,” said Kingdom, whose company, along with the University of Colorado, partnered with the city to coordinate the event.

“Ultimately, the decision was pretty clear to us, because the company we bought the fireworks from for a long time went bankrupt during the pandemic, and we couldn’t find fireworks for the show, so the decision to use drones was quite a big one.” simple,” Kingdom explained.

Further west, in California, other communities like Lake TahoeLa Jolla and Ocean Beach also chose to celebrate their parties with synchronized drones, more respectful with the environment.

The owner of the drone company that runs the La Jolla light show in San Diego County said La Jolla and Ocean Beach are trying out a new way to celebrate Independence Day for the first time.

Jeff Stein, who directs Drone Studiosbased in California, added that La Jolla had dispensed with fireworks for the past five years.

“They found the drone shows as a solution because they are silent,” Stein told .

“The drones are reusable, and with the fireworks there is smoke, other debris, noise stresses out dogs and people with post-traumatic stress disorder. There are a lot of military in San Diego,” he added.

The drone pixels expected to light up the coastal community will simulate fireworks, display aerial animations and tell stories using motion graphics, according to Stein.

“That can’t be done with fireworks,” he said.