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Fireworks sales exploding after COVID-19 forced many cities to cancel large July 4th celebrations

Posted at 9:05 PM, Jul 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-03 23:59:59-04

It's probably going to be a lot noisier this July 4th in neighborhoods across the area.

With large fireworks shows canceled because of COVID-19 and tight budgets, there's been an explosion of fireworks sales.

At Pyro City in Lone Jack, inventory is at an all-time low.

“It’s been crazy the last four days,” said store manager Donna Nuccio. “We’ve had three different trucks come in and bring more stock to us because we have been running out.”

Pyro City orders fireworks a year in advance, guided in part by the previous year’s sales.

Nuccio said nothing prepared the store for the demand this year.

“We probably have maybe a hundred cases and we have thousands of products,” she said.

The American Pyrotechnics Association predicts this year will become an “all-time high” for backyard consumer firework sales due in part to the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of large public celebrations.

Cities throughout the metro including Independence, Blue Springs, and Overland Park, canceled their annual fireworks shows.

Abbey Burk lives in Independence.

Although the city usually puts on a fireworks show every Fourth of July, she and her family always buy their own fireworks.

“It does seem like a lot of stuff is lower than it usually is," she said. "Even at the small tents that we’ve been to, it doesn’t seem like they’ve had such a selection they’ve had in the past, either."