Fireworks sales begin Wednesday amid widespread fire restrictions, active wildfire season

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Firework sales in Utah begin Wednesday amid active wildfire season and fire restrictions.
• Officials urge caution due to dry conditions and potential fire hazards from fireworks.
• Fireworks are only legal July 2-5 and July 22-25 in designated areas.

SALT LAKE CITY — Firework sales begin Wednesday in Utah, but state and local officials are urging residents to think twice before lighting them, as dry conditions fuel one of the state's most active wildfire seasons.

Much of Utah is already under Stage 1 fire restrictions, and officials warn that even a small spark could quickly spread to nearby brush or homes.

"Fireworks are an ignition source. They are no different than a match," said Utah State Fire Marshal Ted Black. "You don't use matches in tinder-dry areas. Common sense tells you not to do that."

Jeff Larsen, chief of the South Davis Metro Fire Department, says conditions this year make fireworks especially dangerous.

"The lack of snowfall, the dry conditions and then the very, very low humidity," Larsen said. "And then obviously in the afternoons we get the canyon winds. So we're just pleading with the public to follow the recommendations."

While most of Utah falls under Stage 1 restrictions — which prohibit open flames, smoking outdoors and fireworks in many public lands — cities and counties can implement their own rules. That means fireworks may be allowed only in limited, designated safe zones depending on where you live.

Firework restrictions by city are listed on the Utah Department of Public Safety's website or on your own municipality or fire department webpages. Salt Lake County, for example, publishes specific firework restrictions alongside its map. Increased patrols will also be enforced in areas where fireworks are banned, and those who violate restrictions could face fines.

The concern is amplified as wildfires continue to burn across the state. Some of the largest burning right now are human-caused: the Iron Fire, Hastings Fire, Middlefork Fire, Tower Fire and Bonneville Fire. With so much of Utah's firefighting resources going to those fires, officials say it's overwhelming to think of more preventable fires cropping up.

"As we've seen, it just takes a split second," Larsen said. "Everything is so volatile right now. We're essentially pleading with the public to follow the recommendations, follow the rules."

With Independence Day and Pioneer Day approaching, leaders are encouraging Utahns to consider safer ways to celebrate this year — especially as the country approaches its 250th anniversary.

"My recommendation is that you consider a different way to celebrate that will ensure the safety of our great state, and ensure that you don't personally lose something this year, like your house," Black said. "What might have been an appropriate way to celebrate last year is not appropriate this year."

Fire officials recommend attending professional shows instead of lighting fireworks at home. They also remind Utahns that fireworks are only legal during limited windows surrounding the Independence Day and Pioneer Day holidays: July 2-5 and July 22-25.

If you do choose to use fireworks at home, fire officials say to submerge your fireworks in water for 24 hours after lighting them, and do not put them in a trash can or dumpster.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Utah wildfiresUtahOutdoorsBusinessPolice & Courts
Brenna Donnelly

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