IDAHO FALLS — Fourth of July is going to be a lot quieter in Idaho Falls this year.

The organizers for the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration and Riverfest announced Thursday morning that they would be canceling the event and fireworks display this year after an attempt to relocate into the foothills east of Ammon was deemed unsafe due to concerns about fire safety and because of the limits put in place to prevent coronavirus spread.

This would have been the 28th year of Melaleuca’s annual fireworks display, which has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to Idaho Falls in recent years and is one of the largest single-day events in Idaho.

“We love doing the show, we love that people are so supportive of it. I hate figuring out that we can’t do it this year, but I also have no doubts that we are making the right decision,” Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot said.

VanderSloot said he had known that Riverfest, run by the Riverbend Communications company he had founded, would be canceled for several weeks but they had put off the official announcement until the fate of the firework display was settled. Keeping it at its normal location at Snake River Landing was ruled out because of the volume of people who would be crowded along the river and throughout Idaho Falls.

Gatherings of 50 or more people may be allowed after June 13 if the number of coronavirus cases doesn’t rise before then, but the event would draw visitors from across Idaho and other states and could easily spread if there was no social distancing.

The alternative plan was to move into the foothills, where the display could be seen from further away and visitors could more easily spread out. A farmer had offered sections of his property to be taken over for the firework staging and a large American flag was going to be built nearby.

“We could have used larger shells that would not be legal in town, they would have blasted out windows. You could see them from 10 or 15 miles away and if you could see the flag, you could see the fireworks,” VanderSloot said

The Idaho Falls Fire Department was approached in early May to look into the logistics of the move. The permit for the site would come from the Bonneville County commissioners if it was approved, but the fire department was given a major advisory role due to its role in the Bonneville County Fire District.

Chief Duane Nelson spearheaded the week-long effort to look into the viability of the new location. He reached out to fireworks manufacturers and experts, gathered environmental data from state wildlife agencies about the flammability of grass and pulled historic data from the surrounding wind farms on the Fourth of July weather.

“As all of that data came in and we tried to manage the amount of risk, it became overwhelming that you could not perform that type of event in the foothills,” Nelson said.

Fire risk was the biggest concern about the new site. Relocating the display away from the river moved it to near where the Henry’s Creek Fire was sparked by illegal fireworks in 2016. That fire burned more than 80 square miles of land over the two weeks it took to be contained.

The unknowns that came with wind direction and weather meant that displays of any size would pose a risk in the foothills. Nelson said the department responded to multiple fires created by fireworks every summer and cautioned all residents of the county to be careful with any of their own events.

“If people do the wrong thing with fireworks that are illegal, that burn hot or are aerial fireworks, there is more likely than not a chance they will start fires, and it would be very difficult for them to be controlled,” Nelson said.

There also remained concerns about the number of people who would come to see the display. Even with the additional visibility, Nelson and law enforcement agencies still expected thousands of people to travel into the nearby foothills that night for a close-up view of the display.

“Even if it’s spread out across a large area, you still have to consider that people would park on county roads in the dark or on people’s private property,” Bonneville County Sgt. Bryan Lovell said.

VanderSloot said he fully expected to have the events again next year, promising a firework display that would be bigger and better than any previous ones.

“There were Fourth of July celebrations for hundreds of years before the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration and there will be celebrations without it. We can all find a way to honor our freedom, but we should try to do it safely so we don’t put anyone else in danger,” VanderSloot said.