Some Colorado municipalities forgo fireworks for drone shows

Aurora and Colorado Springs will put on their own traditional firework shows Monday. But many others, including Castle Pines and Parker, are nixing the fireworks and instead going with drone shows because fire danger is too high.

In Parker, a 12-minute drone light show will all be done through GPD and satellite technology. The creators -- hire UAV pro -- use anywhere from 100 to 250 individual drones, and nd they spend weeks programming the drones to set up at different light points in the sky. Once all the light effects and timing is correct, then, it's showtime.

Drone shows were already on display last year at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Parker is ready for its turn, and another reason why the town is using the drone light show has to do with the cost. The town told us it's spending $30,000 on the drone show, which is about $10,000 less than if they held a regular firework show.

The July 4 event at Salisbury Park was scheduled to begin at 9:30 pm. 

According to the National Fire Protection Association, fireworks were responsible for more than 19,000 fires across the United States in 2018.

 A lighted drone show maintains the flashy celebration without the loud noises that can scare pets and trigger PTSD.