SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Replacing the boom of fireworks is the whir of thousands of rotor blades as more and more communities introduce state-of-the-art drones flying in formation by the hundred to their Fourth of July celebrations.
Some communities are making the move for environmental and social considerations — others for their cool factor.
Drones can create dazzling formations in the sky that you can't get with conventional fireworks, says drone pilot Jesse Asoau.
"If you wanted to see like a square, turn into a cube, turn into a diamond, you know, and then start rotating, those are all things that you get to have now in your own control," said Asoau.
Asoau works at the Idaho-based GO Drone Shows, the company hired by Rancho Cordova for its Fourth of July display.
"The hype is intense. You start seeing them take off in different staggered formations with lights going up, and you're just thinking, 'man, what am I looking at? What what's going to happen here?'" said Asoau.
The technology shared the stage with Lady Gaga in its national debut in 2017 at the Super Bowl. That drone show was developed by Intel, in Santa Clara, which has since left the space to upstarts like GO Drone Shows and Verge Aero — the company running the show in North Lake Tahoe.
North Lake Tahoe Abandoned fireworks entirely in 2022 for environmental and safety reasons, a decision met with some controversy according to Andy Chapman, President & CEO of Travel North Lake Tahoe.
While fireworks are beautiful, "drone create imagery and graphics and moving imagery — and it's pretty impressive," said Chapman.
Some places, like Rancho Cordova, are incorporating drones into their conventional fireworks shows for the added spectacle.
While it's possible that drones could be the future of Fourth of July displays, Shelly Blanchard, executive director at the Cordova Community Council, says fireworks aren't going anywhere, anytime soon.
"It wouldn't surprise me that something that neither you nor I are even imagining now will someday replace the fireworks show, but for now, on the Fourth of July, you got to have some fireworks," said Blanchard.
WATCH MORE: Live | Sacramento Fireworks 2023 @ Sky Cam
