United States

By Samantha Kramer, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

July 05, 2012; 7:34 PM

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No one told Mother Nature that it was Independence Day.

Dozens of cities across the country were forced to cancel their Fourth of July fireworks celebrations because of the weather. Counties in states from Wisconsin down to Colorado, and all the way westward through Maryland experienced a quiet Fourth of July.

Because of the fire activity and droughts, regions in the West were prepared to cancel their fireworks displays weeks ago.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper issued a statewide fireworks ban on June 15. While the ban did not include professional displays, a number of Colorado cities and towns cancelled their displays in the days following to reduce the risk of fire danger.

"These fireworks go 300 feet into the air and the embers could go anywhere," Breckenridge, Co. Mayor John Warne told CBS News. "We've had a lot of winds and the winds just take their toll."

Colorado officials called off more holiday displays from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, areas where firefighters are still battling to extinguish the Waldo Canyon Fire and the High Park Fire.

In addition to dry conditions and fire risk, another holiday grinch swept the Midwest and mid-Atlantic in June, killing power for more than 3 million people.

A number of mid-Atlantic counties cancelled their fireworks displays because they couldn't spare the extra police and fire resources who were still busy working to restore power and clear debris from the super derecho that slammed through nine states on June 29.

Pepco is using a field in Gaithersburg, Md., as a staging area for trucks, transformers, gravel and poles -- the same fairgrounds where the city planned to hold its fireworks celebrations. According to the town's press release, relocating all the trucks and materials to an alternative site was not a viable option for power restoration efforts to continue in full-force.

Michelle Potter, the city's director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, said they were forced to reschedule the fireworks to July 13 while Gaithersburg work crews continued to pick up the pieces from last Friday's damages.

"Our city crews and police are manning the intersections that don't have working traffic lights, our public works men are picking up the debris," Potter said. "All in all, with the resources it takes to put on fireworks display, it was the best decision."

Rockville, Md., was another planned display that cancelled their Fourth of July celebrations. According to the Associated Press, trees and wires were blocking the entrances to Montgomery College, where the fireworks were supposed to be held.

"So many people walk to the fireworks, and they would be having to walk across these [power] lines that might be live," said Rockville City Council member Tom Moore in a National Public Radio interview. "We get about 20,000 people every year...there's just no way to do it safely."