Independence Day fireworks shows have become something of a rarity in Durango over the past seven years, with just two shows being held by the city since 2019.
Durango Fire Protection District Chief Randy Black said the fire district strongly encourages the city to forego contracting for a fireworks show this July 4 due to strong drought conditions across La Plata County and the state.
He said the city hasn’t contacted DFPD to discuss whether fireworks are on the table for this summer – likely, he said, because the city arrived at the same conclusion on its own.
“The chances of that happening are pretty dang slim, that all of a sudden we would have enough rain between now and then,” he said.
Ellen Babers, retiring city community events manager, said the city has decided against holding a fireworks show.
The city issued a news release announcing its decision on Tuesday after The Durango Herald make inquiries.
“We want to be proactive given the existing conditions and forecast and pivot to invest in a Fourth of July Celebration that’s predictable, sustainable, and evolving with our community,” Eric Bulrice, community events manager, said in the release.
He said other Colorado communities – Aspen, Denver, Boulder, Thornton, Longmont and Castle Rock, for example – are also considering alternatives to July 4 fireworks due to wildfire risks.
The city announced Grammy Award-winning Dirty Dozen Brass Band will headline the city’s annual Fourth of July Street Dance, the peak event of the city’s Four Days of the Fourth scheduled for July 2-5.
“We are very excited about the ability to offer a nationally renowned band for a free community concert,” said Mike French, prosperity officer for the city.
The street party will be centered around Buckley Park and on Main Avenue this year, the news release said. A parade will lead into the street dance.
A slew of other events are scheduled for Four Days of the Fourth, including races, rodeos, parades, a boxing match and pie-eating contests, according to the city.
The city said a drone show is not being considered for July 4 festivities this year. The city held its first drone show on July 2, 2022, and a second show the following summer that left spectators unimpressed.
Black said record-low snowpack and snow-water equivalency make the risk of fire too high.
Recent rains in Durango may have bought the city a week to 10 days of low fire risk, he said, but that precipitation is nowhere near enough to make him confident conditions will be safe enough for fireworks in July.
“Single storms don’t change the lack of snowpack and don’t change the lack of ground moisture,” he said. “… If we had hot, dry temps and wind starting tomorrow, within a week we’d be back under bad fire conditions.”
La Plata County snowpack was at 13% as of Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which Black reviewed during an interview.
“The top of Wolf Creek (Pass) east into the San Luis Valley is at 11%,” he said. “Montezuma County and west (into) Utah is at 2%. The numbers are just horrible all around us.”
He said no current data points are good indicators for the Durango area – all of La Plata County ranges from severe to extreme to exceptional drought. Black noted a large swath of northwest Colorado is in exceptional drought as well.
“That’s really bad news for our state,” he said.
With the whole state experiencing one stage of drought or another, fires are going to occur, he said. When they do, access to resources becomes competitive.
He said DFPD is a “wet blanket” when it shuts down fireworks shows.
“It’s a bummer. I’m a huge fireworks fan, I love them. Especially this year with the country’s 250th anniversary, it’s a big deal,” he said. “I hate not having fireworks, but I don’t want to burn our town down for celebration.”
The city of Durango’s last fireworks show was held in 2024 at Smelter Mountain south from the Animas River.
Black said it was a good show, and he hopes weather conditions at another time – perhaps for New Year’s Eve or during Snowdown – make fireworks more feasible.
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