Fireworks canceled due to wildfire, labor shortages

Several U.S. cities are cancelling fireworks displays this Fourth of July due to wildfire danger and supply-chain issues.

While experts say that labor shortages worsened due to the COVID 19 flu have impacted shows, the drought and dangerous fire weather has made traditional fireworks extremely risky.

Arizona's capital has called off three of its major Independence Day, citing supply chain issues, and the city of Flagstaff is replacing its fireworks with a laser show.

Overseas shipping, transportation in the U.S., rising insurance costs and labor shortages have resulted in the canceled displays, along with demand for fireworks shows at concerts, sports stadiums and the Fourth of July holiday that was largely absent during the first two years of the epidemic, according to Heckman.

Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, said that the demand is so high that it's almost like a perfect storm.

pyrotechnic displays were scrapped on California's central coast and Castle Rock, Colorado, because of concerns about wildfires.

Due to drought, a show at Don Pedro Lake was dropped.

In 2021, a fear of worst-case fire scenarios led to similar decisions in America's West. The leaders of the nation banned personal fireworks in hopes of staving off injuries and more fires.

In New Mexico, major cities are continuing to have fireworks on the Fourth of July, under the supervision of fire departments.

The state saw a historic blaze this year due to prescribed burns that spread over more than 340,000 acres.

There are now more than 4,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel assigned to incidents across the country, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Since Jan. 1, 2022, 32,689 wildfires have burned more than 3.5 million acres, well above the 10 year average.