City decides to celebrate holiday with drone show
Each year as summer draws nearer, the Gallup City Council and the city’s fire department take a look at drought conditions and determine whether or not the citizens of Gallup will get to light off fireworks for the Fourth of July.
As of June 13, the northeastern corner of McKinley County is in the D0 (abnormally dry) zone of the Drought Monitor, which is published by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rest of the county is in the D1 (moderate drought) zone.
Gallup Fire Chief Jon Pairett went in front of the city council on May 28 to explain that the drought conditions weren’t extreme enough to allow the city to put a fireworks ban in place.
“Right now, we are not in a severe or extreme drought so we cannot move forward with issuing a proclamation for restricting fireworks, which is a little scary because last year, even though we were not in a drought on the Fourth of July, we responded to 14 fires in four and a half hours.”
The New Mexico Fireworks Licensing and Safety Act only allows cities and counties a small window of time to declare a fireworks ban for the Fourth of July holiday. With July 4 less than a month away, that window has closed.
Pairett said that last year the fire department was mostly dealing with brush fires, but one building did receive some minor structural damage. Some of the paint on the city-owned building at 3030 Sanostee Dr., which is next to the old soccer fields, peeled off due the heat from a fire. Pairett estimated that it cost the city about $2,000 to repaint the building.
The Gallup Fire Department’s main concern around the summer holiday is people’s safety. All fireworks should be used on a paved surface on barren land. People who want to light fireworks should do it on their own property, with the ability to suppress a fire if needed.
Although there isn’t a fireworks ban this year, some fireworks are still illegal in New Mexico.
The New Mexico State Fire Marshal Fireworks Ordinance states that three types of fireworks are not permissible: stick-type rockets having a tube less than five-eighths inch outside diameter and less than three and one-half inches in length; and fireworks intended for sale to the public that produce an audible effect, other than a whistle, by a charge of more than 130 milligrams of explosive composition per report.
CITY CHOOSES A DIFFERENT OPTION
So while fireworks aren’t banned this year, the City of Gallup is still going with a different option to celebrate Independence Day.
In November, the city’s Tourism and Marketing Director Matt Robinson went in front of the city council and proposed a different form of entertainment.
Robinson explained that the city didn’t get any bids from firework vendors for the 2024 Fourth of July celebration. In fact, they only received one bid from Pixis Drones. The company is rapidly becoming the top aerial drone provider in the country. They’ve put together shows for the NFL, NBA, and many national companies.
In an interview with the Sun Robinson went into a little more detail about why the city isn’t putting on a fireworks show this year.
“We probably could’ve gotten fireworks a week later or a week before or something like that, but that doesn’t line up with the purpose of the event, so we went with the drones,” he said.
He said the city had a budget and a plan for a fireworks show this year, but without a vendor to help put it, the city couldn’t do the show.
Instead, Robinson wants to get people excited for the drone show.
“I think [people] can expect a celebration of America’s Most Patriotic Small Town,” he said. “We’re going to have some really amazing visuals timed with some music. It’s just going to have some really patriotic visuals representing the patriotism of our community.”
The 10-minute drone show cost the city $100,000, which is being paid through the Lodger’s Tax fund.
Robinson defended the steep price tag at the November council meeting.
“We really think that’s going to take a huge impact,” he said. “That’s really going to shoot for the stars and make a really good show.”
Although drone shows are definitely different from the fantastical spectacle of fireworks, Robinson pointed out that they may actually have a more positive impact on the community.
“I just want to remind everyone how loud fireworks can be, and sometimes that’s hard for some of our service members who have been in conflicts, and then of course there’s the pets and the dogs who get kind of alarmed by [fireworks as well],” he said. “I think the drone show aligns well with our ‘Most Patriotic Small Town.’ It’s going to be enjoyable for everybody, so I think it’s going to be a good deal.”
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
