Record heat, extreme drought conditions, and wildfires raging across the state may mean no neighborhood fireworks this year to celebrate Utah's July holidays, said Governor Spencer Cox in a town hall meeting on June 15.
Utah's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) keeps a constantly updated website about wildfires and restrictions in Utah, and this year has already been dire. More than 300 wildfires have burned across the state, with seven large fires still not fully contained.
With these conditions statewide, a single spark can ignite dry vegetation and spread in a flash.
Currently, fireworks are banned on all state and unincorporated business lands, and more restrictions may be put on place within city limits for the 4th of July and Pioneer Day on July 24th.
Governor Cox warns that setting off fireworks and potentially starting a fire to a neighbor's house or thousands of acres are "just not worth it this year." He pleaded with Utahns to put them away until the extreme fire threat they cause can be extinguished.
Commercial fireworks shows done in conjunction with fire departments are an exception, as they may be done much more safely.
