Drought woes raise fireworks fears
Some Western states cancel July 4 displays
SALT LAKE CITY — Many Americans aching for normalcy as pandemic restrictions end are looking forward to traditional Fourth of
July fireworks. But with a historic drought in the U.S. West and fears of another devastating wildfire season, officials are canceling displays, passing bans on setting off fireworks or begging for caution.
Fireworks already have caused a few small wildfires, including one started by a child in northern Utah and another in central California. Last year, a pyrotechnic device designed for a baby’s gender reveal celebration sparked a California blaze that killed a firefighter during a U.S. wildfire season that scorched the second-highest amount of land in nearly 40 years.
Some regions of the American West are experiencing their worst drought conditions in more than a century this year, said Jennifer Balch, director of Earth Lab at the University of Colorado. People setting off fireworks at home is a concern because of both the tinder-box conditions ripe for starting wildfires and the threat of injuries. Last year, injuries spiked to their highest level in 15 years after the pandemic canceled large gatherings, federal data shows.
“As a fire scientist, I’m bracing myself for this fire season because of how dry and hot it is already,” Balch said. “I think fireworks right now are a terrible idea.”
Fireworks industry professionals, who also stressed caution in drought-prone areas, expect strong sales despite a shortage caused by pandemic-related manufacturing slowdowns and trade disruptions.
“We think we’re going to have a tremendous year,” said James Fuller, a fireworks safety expert with Alabama-based TNT Fireworks.
While fireworks are integral to the country’s Independence Day celebrations, they ignite thousands of fires a year — including one
that burned Bobbie Uno’s home in Clearfield, Utah, on the holiday last year. She had to jump out of the way before it struck the side of her house.
“Within five seconds, my house, from the bushes to the rooftop, it was burning,” Uno said. The blaze caused $60,000 in damage and forced her family out of their home for weeks.
Several Utah cities are banning people from setting off their own fireworks this year during the record drought, but many Republicans are against a statewide prohibition. GOP Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton supports restrictions but thinks this year is a bad time for a blanket ban.
“We’re just coming out of this pandemic where people already felt like government was restricting them in so many ways,” she said. “When you issue bans arbitrarily, we could
have a situation where people who weren’t going to light fireworks purposely go and buy fireworks to just send a message to government.”
State fireworks laws vary considerably across the U.S., but local bans on personal fireworks are popping up from Montana to Oregon, which was stricken by massive wildfires last year.
In Arizona, which already is being scorched by more than a dozen wildfires, many cities have canceled their public fireworks shows.
It’s a similar story in Colorado, where dozens of shows have been scuttled, including in Steamboat Springs, a ski town where firefighters are already spread thin.
But in neighboring Wyoming, business is booming at fireworks stores, including sales of products prohibited elsewhere. The parking lots fill on weekends, and many cars have out-of-state plates.