The U.S. will be celebrating its 224th birthday on Saturday, July 4, but between the ongoing changes resulting from COVID-19, the celebrations will be significantly limited.
The city of Cottonwood usually goes all out with its festivities, featuring not just multicolored fireworks, but a celebration at the Cottonwood Kids Park on S. 12th St., with food, games, vendors and a salute to local veterans.
While Cottonwood is holding its annual fireworks display, the gathering has been canceled in order to abide by social distancing guidelines.
“This year we traded the ground shells for aerial shells to help elevate the show and allow viewing from greater distances,” city staff wrote in a press release. “We invite the community to enjoy the fireworks from locations all around Cottonwood. We also welcome viewing drive-in style at the Cottonwood Kids Park. On-site parking will start at 7 p.m. If you need to exit your vehicle at any time, please practice physical distancing by putting at least six feet of space between you and anyone outside of your household, or wear a cloth face covering. We encourage anyone with under- lying health conditions to view the show offsite, or from their vehicle. We urge everyone to take personal responsibility to help keep Cottonwood safe and healthy on the Fourth — and every other day.”
Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, which normally holds its own Fourth of July celebration, has canceled its fireworks display, citing not just COVID- 19 but also the risk of fire in the dry climate the area is currently experiencing.
“After meeting with representatives from the Forest Service and the Copper Canyon Fire District, we made the deci- sion that the fire danger is too high and simply not worth the risk to our community,” James Perry, director of marketing for Cliff Castle, wrote in an email. “The Family Fun Picnic will also be postponed this year. This decision was made based on the current COVID-19 situation in Arizona. Our priority is the safety of our team members and guests.”
The casino will, however, be holding hot seat drawings on Saturday and Sunday every hour from 11 a.m. through 9 p.m.
“We have one of the safest fireworks display areas in Arizona and we have taken precautions to ensure that fire safety is maintained during the show,” Cottonwood Fire Chief Mike Kuykendall wrote in the press release, addressing potential fire risks for Cottonwood’s display. “These precautions include minimizing vegetation in the fireworks shooting area and ‘fallout’ zone, limiting the size of the fireworks to minimize the ‘fallout’ zone and ensuring there are adequate fire trucks and fire personnel on scene to ensure maximum fire safety. Even with all these precautions, the decision to shoot fireworks is dependent on weather conditions at the time of the show. Wind speed and direction are taken into account and the decision to shoot fireworks can be delayed or suspended at any time prior to or even after the show begins.”
Clarkdale made the deci- sion to cancel its Fourth of July celebration in May, citing concerns about public gatherings and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are trying to make responsible decisions when it comes to these popular events that make it impossible to manage social distancing practices,” Clarkdale Parks and Recreation Manager Joni Westcott said at the time. “We tried to explore alter- native options and there just aren’t any that do not involve some sort of public gathering.”
To make up for the lack of celebration, the Clarkdale Town Park has been lit up with patriotic lights and decorations through the weekend.
