国际英语资讯:Independence Day weekend celebrations diminish in U.S. West_时事

国际英语资讯:Independence Day weekend celebrations diminish in U.S. West

The state's largest city canceled its world-famous Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) in 2020 scheduled in July over COVID-19 concerns, after 112 straight years, but local officials used the rodeo grounds on July 4 anyway, as a launching pad to give residents a colorful light show.

At local time 9:35 p.m., explosions erupted in the skies above the empty rodeo stadium seats, and country music was blasted from big speakers into the city.

The 2020 show has been "designed to maximize aerial displays for visibility from locations all over Cheyenne," CFD spokeswoman Nicole Gamst said.

"We are pleased to be able to offer the fireworks show and accompanying music where it can be enjoyed from your own backyard, porch, patio, or wherever you choose to watch this great Cheyenne tradition," she added.

The record dry conditions also put the damper on fireworks in Idaho, the heavily-forested northwestern state bordering Canada, where many nighttime displays were canceled.

"Every year we see homes and structures that are burned down from the careless lighting of aerial fireworks illegally and we don't want to see that happen," Jerry McAdams with the Boise Fire Department (BFD) told the media.

"Our firefighters are extremely busy every single Fourth of July. They run from call to call to call to call, numerous vegetation fires, structure fires, shed fires that type of thing and the vast majority of that is people lighting off aerial fireworks illegally," McAdams said, cautioning local residents to be careful with private fireworks displays, that were still allowed across the state.