Fire threats and environmental concerns have prompted some US cities to forego traditional Fourth of July fireworks in favor of spectacular drone light shows this year.
Salt Lake City, Utah, tried out the alternative way of celebrating Independence Day on Saturday with its first-ever drone show. The city’s mayor, Erin Mendenhall, said in a news release the new format marked an effort to minimize the area’s “high fire danger” and to lessen air quality problems caused by pyrotechnics. “As temperatures rise and fire danger increases, we must be conscientious of both our air quality and the potential for wildfires,” Mendenhall said in the release.
“The fact that we had the Marshall Fire here in our community about 18 months ago was one of the things we discussed,” said Kingdom, whose company, along with the University of Colorado, partnered with the city on coordinating the event.
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