AURORA | Aurora’s Fourth of July Spectacular might look a little different next year as the city council could switch away from the traditional fireworks display to a drone show.

On Thursday, council members at the September parks and recreation committee meeting voiced support for forgoing a fireworks display and instead having a drone show at the annual Fourth of July celebration at city hall. 

Councilmembers Curtis Gardner, Stephanie Hancock and Ruben Medina said they were inclined to make the swap because of growing wildfire risks.

“From a resource perspective, I would prefer to have the fire department available for neighborhood issues,” Gardner said. “We all need to accept that we are going to live in an increasingly arid climate in Colorado and things like fireworks probably just are not going to be a reality here, so my opinion is that I would probably support the drone show at this point.”

Hancock said she agreed with Gardner.

“In the changing landscape, despite what we think about it, it is what it is, so we’ve got to think about our future,” she said.

Medina said he also supports the drone show because it might help reduce traffic build-ups in surrounding neighborhoods caused by crowds gathering to see the fireworks.

According to city staff, a roughly 20-minute fireworks display costs $65,000, while a 16-minute drone show is estimated to cost about $90,000. Brian Green, director of parks, recreation and open space, added that the city would issue a request for proposals for drone show to select a reasonably priced operator.

While fireworks displays are popular and widely visible, Green said the drawbacks include smoke and air pollution, fire risk and noise impacts. Drones are quieter and don’t have air pollution or fire risks, but are less visible, more expensive and, like fireworks, can be impacted by weather.

The discussion will move to a city council study session next. 

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