For many of us, fireworks are part of the soundtrack of summer. But some communities are switching over to drone shows to light up the sky instead.
Salt Lake City and Los Angeles have already made the switch, and while Canada doesn’t celebrate American Independence Day, Vancouver has started including drones in its summer fireworks shows.
Proponents of the change say fireworks cause air pollution and trigger post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans and negatively affect other neurodivergent people. It’s a change that faces pushback every time it’s proposed, with fireworks fans contending it’s taboo to change an American tradition. But the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation says maybe it’s time. Margaret LaFarr with the DEC’s Air Resources Division says whenever a firework is set off, it emits small particulate matter, which can be toxic.
‘Many of the fireworks are use metals, different chemicals that include metals to make those pretty colors,” LaFarr said.
LaFarr says a wider area than just the launch zone is affected, and the effects of particulate matter are worsened by hot, stagnant air. She says the particulates spike for an hour or two afterward, but they don’t dissipate all the way.
“We can still see those particles in the air in the morning, so the higher levels of particulates can linger for several hours at times,” LaFarr said.
LaFarr says more research needs to be done into alternatives before she recommends changing over, but adds she does feel a switch is smart.
“We don't want to put a damper on anyone's celebrations, but I think there are ways to celebrate holidays like Fourth of July, and really limit or eliminate some of the air pollution effects from that,” LaFarr said.
Republican Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello agrees with LaFarr.
“If somebody came in with a proposal for a drone show, I would be totally open. That would be really, really neat,” Mantello said.
Mantello says, while the city doesn’t run its own fireworks show, Trojans still set them off for Independence Day and other celebrations.
“Our DPW [Department of Public Works] was out in full force on Friday, literally picking up and they were all over some of our streets, some of our parks,” Mantello said.
Mantello says, aside from the noise and litter, fireworks can be dangerous.
“Three a.m, we had the fight in Troy. So, you know, unfortunately, when you know, [a] mass amount of people gather with fireworks, with alcohol, bad things can happen,” Mantello said.
Matthew Sanker is lead producer with Detroit-based Firefly Drone Shows. He says drone shows and fireworks displays can coexist.
“I believe that drone shows just can be an alternative for certain areas, specifically that do want to be environmentally friendly, or you want to bring a new display,” Sanker said.
Sanker says there’s more variety in a drone show than with fireworks, adding that, instead of a launch sequence like with fireworks, drone shows involve animation behind the scenes.
“It starts with just gaining some understanding about the overall event that we're looking to bring the show to, speaking with the clients on their vision and for the show and the theme that they might want to see,” Sanker said.
From there, Sanker says his company works with clients to storyboard the show, which is then animated and programmed into each drone.
“We lay them out, plug them in, get ready to go, upload some things to them, do some safety checks, some tests and whatnot, and then get ready for show. And then when it's time for [the] show, we will set the time, and each drone will then begin to take off and head towards the sky and get into position for the display,” Sanker said.
Sanker says drone shows are better for the environment, people and pets’ mental health.
“There is not any hot embers or any fallout like that that you would see in a traditional fireworks display. So you're preventing any sort of unintentional fires to a dry environment, as well as you know, in terms of pollutants, there isn't any fallout,” Sanker said.
Tyler Kubicz is with SkyElements, a drone fireworks company based in Texas. He says drones are substitutes, not wholesale replacements.
“There's no residue left behind. There's no debris left behind. There's no shell casings left behind. Whatever our crews carry in, we carry out, and we sometimes leave our sites a little cleaner than they were when we got there. At the end of the day, you know, there's no source of debris, there's no noise pollution either,” Kubicz said.
As for concerns that drones would wholesale replace fireworks?
“Firework shows aren't going anywhere,” Kubicz said.
As for the cost, Kubicz says his company’s pricing starts at $15,000 for a small show of about 100 drones.
Julie Heckman is Executive Director with the American Pyrotechnics Association. She says fireworks remain an American tradition.
“People will come and camp out all day. They will dine at the restaurants. They will stay at the hotels. They will be tourists, and drop in all the stores and wait for that firework show to go off at dusk. They will not do that for a drone show,” Heckman said.
Heckman disagrees with the DEC that fireworks are dangerous for air quality, saying outdoor grilling is more harmful to the environment. As for noise, Heckman points to shows like those at Disney in Orlando and Anaheim, where shells are launched from the air to eliminate ground-level smoke. But she notes it’s not something that’s feasible across the country.
“Everybody would have to one, tell the manufacturers to make the shells differently so that they could employ air launch technology, but they'd have to replace all of their equipment. That's just not feasible for the firework industry,” Heckman said.
Heckman says drones can’t replace traditional fireworks.
“It can be a nice segment in between segments of a fireworks show to capture the audience attention, but fireworks, the tradition is it's a multi-sensory experience. We want to see those bright colors. We want to hear and feel that concussion, and if we're close enough and lucky, we're going to get the smell, the smoke,” Heckman said.
While proponents of drones say they’re less polluting than fireworks, Heckman disagrees.
“They are lithium batteries that actually make these drones function, and those have to be charged. Drones can only last for about 12 minutes, so they are also very expensive, almost three times more expensive per minute than a firework show,” Heckman said.
