Some local fireworks shows canceled despite cooler, wetter weather

Canon City has become the second southern Colorado town to announce that it won’t have a fireworks show on the Fourth of July holiday next week.

Canon City Fire Chief David DelVecchio said the man who headed the Fremont County Fireworks Committee that operates the show — Hank Holloway — died last year and no one has stepped forward to replace him.

DelVecchio also said the town didn’t budget for a Fourth of July show, given that previous summers have been hot and dry with high fire danger.

The town traditionally stages its show on Skyline Drive, a steep hill overlooking the city.

“We don’t have a big open space or a lake at Memorial Park like Colorado Springs does,” DelVecchio said. “There’s not a lot of vegetation on Skyline, but we had a fire there several years ago when a firework malfunctioned. We had to cancel the show in the middle of it.”

Manitou Springs recently canceled its show, despite cooler and wetter conditions this spring and summer. Both towns cited concerns over fire danger as a contributing factor. Both also canceled their shows last year.

Colorado Springs plans to have a fireworks show, but Fire Department Capt. Brian Vaughn said the area’s quick-changing weather could change those plans.

“We dry out quickly,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of days of breeze and warm weather, and we’ve seen fire danger go from low to moderate already, in, like, a 50-hour period.”

Several Canon City residents said they understand the concern about fire danger, but are disappointed they won’t have a show on the year’s most patriotic holiday.

The situation makes us wonder: If we can’t have a fireworks show despite cooler, wetter conditions, then when can we have one?