Fireworks Cancelled in Colorado – Forever?
Fireworks Cancelled in Colorado – Forever?
When you hear “Fourth of July” you should automatically think of fireworks. Celebrating our nation’s independence with fireworks goes together like peanut butter and jelly, cookies and milk, salt and pepper!
But for the people of Denver, you may not be able to pair your celebration with colorful views in the night sky this year. Rising summer temperatures have caused severe droughts and dry spells risking severe forest fires that could likely abrupt from fireworks.
Over a dozen cities in Colorado have canceled their firework shows that thousands were planning to attend, so you may need to look into changing your plans! These cities have canceled their shows this year due to dry weather:
- Aspen
- Breckenridge
- Buena Vista
- Cañon City
- Durango
- Fruita
- Georgetown
- Glenwood Springs
- Kiowa
- Manitou Springs
- Ouray
- Pagosa Springs
- Silverton
- Steamboat Springs
- Telluride
- Woodland Park
This may not just be a one-time instance of canceling fireworks due to dry weather. Colorado weather trends show that in more recent years, humidity has been decreasing and the average high temperatures are rising.
The city of Breckenridge has not only canceled firework shows, but they’ve also disallowed the public from using their own private fireworks from July third to the fifth since several counties are actually under burn bans and Stage 1 fire restrictions. Only time will tell if the government will take state-wide action on fireworks in the future, as for now, it’s a local judgment call.
Colorado is one of the fastest-warming states in the US, and its annual average temperature has increased by over 2 degrees in the last 30 years. Cities can heat up faster due to the urban heat island effect and retain more heat than natural land.
With rising temperatures, wildfires are more likely to occur. Over 4,000 wildfires occurred in 2012 alone in Colorado leaving 384,803 acres of land up in smoke. In 2013 Colorado was listed as the 3rd most wildfire-prone state in the country. 374,000 homes were considered to be at high or extreme risk from wildfire, that’s 17% of all houses.
Regardless of the dry spell, if you’re still bugging to get out and watch some fireworks this weekend, there are still options. Here are some places who have shows planned for the meantime, though do a little research before considering traveling a distance in case they decide to cancel last minute as well.
Here are some places that are still on to have firework shows in Colorado. Check them out and hopefully, you can find what you’re looking for.
The Colorado sun may be able to suck the life out of any firework plans you had, but don’t let it suck the life out of your lawn!
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Have a good & safe fourth of July!