Local opinion: Ending fireworks a good decision

Tucson’s tinder-dry desert is getting a small break, thanks to city officials putting safety and the environment first.

Sentinel Peak’s fireworks show on July 4 was the 29th and last. The city will switch to a drone show next year.

City Manager Tim Thomure drove the decision at the request of Mayor Regina Romero and City Council members.

"The fireworks always put our area at risk, we always have fire hazards, and we have public safety personnel all over that mountain every year, trying to make sure that no fires start or any spot fires are put out,” city manager’s spokesman Andrew Squire told the Star.

It’s a decision worth applauding amid the normal criticism of governmental officials, especially in our politically polarized era.

Potholes are ubiquitous. We’ve done too little to reduce homelessness. Red-light running is a dangerous sport. Taxes are too high. We don’t have enough police officers, and as a result, response times are often slow.

We know officials are working on these problems — well, perhaps not the taxes. Solutions are evasive and complex, so any advances are worth noting.

In the grander scheme, this is a small yet significant victory, and we should hail it while continuing the symbolism and tradition of celebrating Independence Day.

Some call the change an affront to patriotism. It’s the opposite, because switching from fireworks to drones has many benefits for we the people.

It ends chances that embers will ignite dried grass and brush on Sentinel Peak, threatening nearby houses.

Concussive explosions will be gone, no longer triggering PTSD in veterans and others or harming pets and wildlife.

Saving thousands of gallons of water pumped from city tankers to soak the mountain before the show is another benefit.

Eliminating smoke from the pyrotechnics will reduce irritation for those with breathing issues and lessen air pollution.

Firefighters and their equipment won’t have to stand by on the mountain, freeing them for emergencies elsewhere.

Debris from fireworks’ cardboard and paper casings will no longer be left on the mountain to blow in the wind.

Embers from 2017’s fireworks ignited buffelgrass on Sentinel Peak’s south slope. Firefighters needed two hours to control the fire in rugged terrain.

Changing the show has been in the works for a while, said Squire, who worked for two City Council members before joining the city manager’s office.

“We have received calls in the council offices every year, and the number of those calls has grown, asking for us to look at alternatives,” he said in a phone interview. “Way back, people worried about animals. Those were the initial calls I saw as a council member’s aide.

“I know elected officials have seen an increase in calls, mostly when we had the huge fires on Mt. Lemmon.”

Ten or 20 years ago, there were no alternatives to fireworks for July 4. Now, drones can put on spectacular shows with fewer safety and environmental issues.

Drone shows do cost more, up to four times that of fireworks, Squire said. Fireworks have run about $35,000 annually, and the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Desert Diamond Casino paid for them as a gift to the community. Expenses of Fire, Police, Parks and Recreation departments and Tucson Water were over and above that.

City officials will take six months to plan a drone show and seek sponsors, likely more than one because of the higher cost, Squire said, adding, “We can celebrate as a community together and not take risks.”

Well said, and to city of Tucson officials, well done.