Severe drought has caused a rash of firework display cancellations in the area. On Thursday, Kewanee Fire Chief Stephen Welgat issued a ban on open burning and fireworks of all kinds, stating he would update the community on the status of Kewanee’s Fourth of July display by early next week.
Executive Director of the Kewanee Chamber of Commerce Mark Mikenas said he has been in contact with the fire chief and as of now, they are operating as if the event is still on for July 4, but unless weather conditions change, the display may need to be postponed. The date of a future event is impossible to predict, he said.
“Right now, I can’t tell you,” said Mikenas. “It’s not like a rain date where we can just choose a future date.”
That’s because drought conditions could persist well into the summer. According to government agencies, as of this week, over 30 percent of Illinois is under the D-2 classification of severe drought. Henry County is included in that area.
Mikenas said if conditions don’t change, the event won’t be canceled, but instead postponed. But that presents another problem, he said. Postponed to when?
“We will do it at a later date, just when we won’t know. We can’t predict the weather and we need to plan the event not only around the weather, but we will also need to check with the display company to see if they are available,” he said.
Kewanee isn’t the only area community who relies on J & M Display for their pyrotechnics. As other area communities postpone their events, they will also need to reschedule with the lighting display, so while Mikenas said a date may be chosen, it doesn’t guarantee the display company will be available at that time.
“It’s a planner’s nightmare,” he said.
Mikenas assures the community that it will get a fireworks display at some point, but nothing will be known until Fire Chief Welgat makes the decision next week.
“He wanted to give it an extra week to see what happens over the weekend, and the forecast,” said Mikenas.
According to weather.com, there is rain predicted in the forecast. A 37% chance of rain is predicted for Sunday, June 25. The 10-day forecast, which is subject to change, calls for about a 40% chance of rain on Friday, June 30 and a 42% chance of rain on Saturday, June 1.
Mikenas said he remembers only one other year where lack of rain caused them to take extreme precautions. The Kewanee Community Fire Department, using its brush truck, sprayed down the field from where the fireworks were launched.
But even then, Mikenas said, the conditions weren’t as bad as they are now. Still, the hope from everyone is that the show will go on.
“Our goal is to make it happen. We all want it to go off as planned, trust me,” he said, adding that the scenario where another date would have to be chosen isn’t a pleasant thought.
“We’ll take it day-by-day. We are still continuing to raise money. It’s just a ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ kind of thing,” said Mikenas.
