The Tahoe City Downtown Association is raising money to bring back the city's traditional fireworks show. Their GoFundMe campaign - Bring Back the Boom - aims to raise $77,000.
One reason for switching to drones was environmental concerns, said Katherine Hill, the association’s executive director. But that switch affected local businesses.
"Our downtown businesses, which are all small, locally owned shops, restaurants, retailers and recreation providers, were seeing declining sales because people were actually leaving Tahoe City to go to fireworks shows in other communities," Hill said.
The Tahoe City Downtown Association surveyed about 100 residents and business owners and found a strong preference for fireworks over drones.
"They were all supportive for the same reason that it was absolutely like going back to the fireworks," Hill said.
The North Tahoe Community Alliance has approved more than $37,000 to support safety measures and entertainment. But Hill said the fireworks show itself depends entirely on donations.
Hill said they work with the U.S. Coast Guard to make sure everything is safe, and the day after the fireworks, divers go into the lake to make sure there's no debris.
"This year we're also looking at putting something called a net that would go around the barge to catch the fireworks if there's any debris before they even get into the lake. And then we would still have divers go in to make sure there's nothing left behind," she said.
They are also working with the League to Save Lake Tahoe to ensure cleanup after the event, Hill said.
