COVID, dry weather hinder Fourth of July festivities

Jul. 1—No parade in Afton? No fireworks in Stillwater? Ninety-four degrees on Sunday?

It's shaping up to be a strange and hot Fourth of July.

Before you head out for any holiday activities, east-metro officials suggest checking city websites and event calendars to make sure they are still on. Roseville, for example, has canceled it's July 4 Party in the Park, including entertainment in the Rog, because of COVID-19.

Officials in Afton, known for its patriotic parade in a quaint and historic small town, decided in March to cancel this year's parade. Planning starts early in the year with booking entertainment, hiring police, securing volunteers, picking vendors and raising money, said Afton City Council member Stan Ross, who coordinates the parade.

"There is a long lead time from when you start with planning until it actually happens," Ross said. "Back in March, we didn't know whether COVID restrictions would still apply by the Fourth."

In order to raise the roughly $15,000 needed to run the parade, committee members "felt it improper to ask already financially stressed businesses to donate," Ross said.

For those trying to take in the fun outdoors, keep cool.

"Overall, it's going to be a warm weekend, for sure," Jacob Beitlich, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Wednesday night. "The Fourth will probably be the hottest day of the weekend."

The temperature could get up to 95 degrees in the Twin Cities on Sunday, Beitlich said. Temperatures in central to western Minnesota could hit the mid- to upper 90s, he said.

NO FIREWORKS

If you want to see fireworks in St. Paul on the Fourth of July, you're going to have to plan ahead — and buy a ticket. City officials decided to scrap the city's annual fireworks display, but people in St. Paul can still catch a fireworks show on July 4 after the St. Paul Saints game at CHS Field. Fireworks shows also will be held on July 2 and July 3.

The pyrotechnics are part of "Downtown Welcome Back Weekend," which is being billed as a "weekend of live music, art, baseball, fireworks and fun." Tickets for the July 4 game begin at $5 for Treasure Island berm seating; $9 for bleacher seats; $18 for outfield reserved, and $21 for the drink rail, infield reserved and home plate reserved.

The city of Stillwater will not have an official city-sponsored Fourth of July fireworks display for the second year in a row. City officials announced last month that the fireworks show had been canceled this year due to "supply-chain issues." Last year's show was canceled due to COVID-19.

It turns out there aren't enough employees available to work on the Fourth to put on the show, and Edina is in the same boat. Both shows relied on RES Specialty Pyrotechnics for their fireworks.

"There's a human shortage," RES director Erv Haman said.

Mark Hanson, event producer at Pyrotechnic Displays' Minnesota location, said the company usually stores two to three years' worth of fireworks supplies, so there was no problem with firework quantity. He just couldn't get people to come to work.

"More cities could've had fireworks," Hanson said. "But nobody wants to work."

This year, Pyrotechnic Displays will put on 30 fireworks shows, using all it's available operators, Hanson included. Before the events of 2020, Hanson said they could usually put on 45 to 50 shows each year. The company is still getting calls.

"All the communities are having celebrations and they want to add fireworks," he said. "Unless they were early to the game, they aren't getting it."

In Stillwater, city officials are instead planning a "Lift and Loop Bridge" celebration — complete with fireworks — on Aug. 14.

Stillwater's Fourth of July celebration on Sunday will include a Civil War cannon salute in Lowell Park, free live music in Lowell Park and Pioneer Park and a flyover at noon by the 148th Fighter Wing.

And while the city won't be hosting its typical Fourth of July fireworks show, Mayor Ted Kozlowski said he has heard some rumors that there might be some community members who are coordinating their own show. "I'm guessing if you are downtown or on the river come nightfall, you will see some fireworks, and they will be awesome," he wrote in a Facebook post.

PARADE ON JULY 3

Because the Fourth of July falls on a Sunday this year, Forest Lake officials decided to have their parade on Saturday so "we don't compete with the local churches," said Terry Larson, membership director of the American Legion Post 225, which coordinates the city's Fourth of July activities.

"It's your typical all-American gathering with lots of red, white and blue," he said of the parade, which starts at 10 a.m.

Last year, because of COVID, the American Legion held a "reverse parade," he said. "We had floats and the color guard outside the Legion, and people drove by and they honked, and we waved."

The fireworks show, which will be Sunday, is expected to last about 35 minutes. The fireworks are shot into the air from barges floating on Forest Lake, he said.

A SPARK IS ALL IT TAKES

A commissioner's order from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued June 17 prohibited the use of fireworks until further notice outside of municipalities in seven central Minnesota counties due to dangerously dry conditions.

The risk is small, only 1 percent of fires the DNR has responded to since 1995 have been caused by fireworks, notes DNR Wildfire Prevention Supervisor Casey McCoy. However, people should be especially careful this year as dry air and wind can easily spark a fire.

"The conditions this summer increase the risk of wildfires resulting from any source of flame and sparks, including campfires and fireworks," McCoy said.

As far as public displays go, the weather shouldn't stop them. Minnesota State Fire Marshal Jim Smith said professional fireworks shoot so high in the air that there should be little concern.

Legally, home-bought fireworks should be OK to use with the proper precautions:

— Use on the driveway, away from streets and grassy areas.

— Keep a bucket of water nearby.

— Place used fireworks in water when finished.

Illegal fireworks, like bottle rockets or roman candles, could be especially dangerous in the drought as they are airborne fireworks that act in an unpredictable manner once lit. Even without the drought, fireworks have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage in Minnesota in past years.

"By law, we should have no issue," Smith said. "Do not purchase illegal fireworks and bring them into Minnesota."

'BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER'

Afton officials are turning their attention to the Fourth of July 2022.

"I expect it to be quite a nice large turnout and lots and lots of fun," Ross said. "We are looking forward to it. It's a great event, but next year it will be bigger and better than ever."

People wanting a good view of the parade — which starts on the north end of town, travels south for about three-quarters of a mile, turns around and comes back — are expected to start claiming spaces along St. Croix Trail the night before the parade.

"It's pretty crazy," Ross said. "They are out there at least a day ahead of time."

But what will all the politicians do without a parade?

"They're just going to have to door knock," he said.