Family gathering? Check. Hot dogs? Check. Frosty beverages? Check. Fireworks? Well, that may be one tradition that most Coloradans have to do without this year.
The dangerous fire season unfolding before us this summer has caused many local governments around the state to cancel even professionally conducted displays.
And we think that’s wise, even though we understand why some jurisdictions are still intending to let theirs go forward. Given the tinderbox conditions, however, all it takes is a gust of wind and a stray spark to set off a disastrous fire in many places.
In all, have canceled their fireworks displays in response to the dangerous fire season Colorado has been experiencing.
Longmont was one of the latest. Its Public Safety Chief Mike Butler told the Times-Call that public sentiment was stacked against having a fireworks show.
“Our community, in an unprecedented way, is saying we do not want fireworks in our community,” according to a statement from Butler.
Edgewater, Lafayette, Cañon City and Glendale , as did Bandimere Speedway. are not having displays. Others on the no-go list include Boulder, Littleton, Fort Collins, Golden, Aspen, Durango and all of Douglas and Jefferson counties.
In Colorado Springs, which has sustained the devastating Waldo Canyon Fire, some nine commercial displays that were set to take place between July 1 and July 6 have been called off.
Gov. John Hickenlooper last month issued a statewide fire ban that encompassed personal fireworks displays, but allowed commercial and municipal displays with the permission of the local sheriff. That is why the opting out is happening at the local level.
It’s true that fireworks are very much a part of the tradition of celebrating Independence Day.
It might strike some as depressing — like observing Christmas without a Christmas tree. But there are many other ways to celebrate the Fourth of July and its special place in our nation’s history without setting off pyrotechnics. And for this year, it is the wiser course.
